Renkinjutsu
by Sakura Minatsuki
Summary: When Naruto Uzumaki lends the hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura Haruno, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy. Will she ever go home or would she even want to?
1. Chapter 1: Bleeding Love

**Renkinjutsu**  
**By:** Pure Sakura Haruno  
**Rating:** T (For some crude language, blood, and action)**  
Summary:** Naruto X-over. When Naruto lends the new, hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy! Will she ever go home? Or would she even want to?  
**Timeline:** In Naruto, after the Chuunin Exams. In Fullmetal Alchemist, manga-verse, before Hughes' was killed.  
**Pairings:** The pairings are still undecided, though I had already paired Sakura Haruno up with Edward Elric, seeing that they have short-tempers yet they are very caring. They can relate to each other. Other pairings that I have chosen is of course, Naruto/Hinata, and Roy/Riza.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto / Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa.

No Flames but Criticisms would be nice because I'd love someone to point out grammar errors.  
Please Review!

* * *

_**Chapter One—Bleeding Love**_

* * *

_  
But they don't know the truth  
my heart's crippled by the vein  
That I keep on closing  
you cut me open and I keep bleeding,_

_Keep, Keep Bleeding Love_

—_**Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis**_

* * *

Hi, my name is Haruno Sakura.

Yeah, I know, boring introduction to the biggest and most popular story yet huh? But what can I say? I'm not really good at introductions so please, bear with me here. I really don't know how to start a story like this--that's far from average and everything--and all it can include is some graphic novel book that my knucklehead teammate handed to me. I guess you can say it was 'fate' and my miserable life that I just had to meet up with that book. But... let's not go to that topic yet, okay?

Just let me clear up my description--though it might be uninteresting, seeing that I don't really like to describe myself. I'm Sakura Haruno, a pink-haired Genin from Konohagure no Sato. I have green eyes that seemed to not match my face and a large, unusual forehead. There, happy? That's to make you clear the questions of 'What does she even look like'? Now do you want to get on to the story? Okay!

* * *

It all started with the day I'm going to tell someone how I truly felt and how I know it will accept me. I marked that it was going to be my lucky day... the special someone's name? Sasuke Uchiha.

The beginning of the day that I heard Sasuke would be at the training grounds today with my sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Being as curious as you usually are, you're wondering who Sasuke Uchiha is? Well, I love to get to this topic! Sigh… Uchiha Sasuke, how would I start with a delightful creature like him? He's probably hard to talk about… seeing as if he makes my heart beat every time.

Uchiha Sasuke… hm… well he's _handsome_ and he's a complete _hottie_—specifically a **bad boy**. Every girl loves bad boys, especially me—and it seemed like fate had gave my very unlucky life to be in the same team Ninja Team as him and oh, how my hopes went soaring high. I knew I'd get so many chances just to be with him and I wouldn't want to waste it all. I really needed to get as close to Sasuke, I needed to. I wanted to be the luckiest girl there for I knew, I was going to be Sasuke's girlfriend.

Oh… I can't help but look at his daring and mysterious black-onyx eyes, his soft-fleshed mouth, his smooth light skin, and his gorgeous spiked-up dark-blackish blue hair that I want to run my fingers down upon. Like a bee, I was attracted to him, for he was like honey. I wanted to just embrace him and feel his scent—but that wish, I know it wouldn't really come true would it? I just hope it will.

And today, I would consider it my very lucky day, for I, Haruno Sakura, would confront Sasuke and tell him straight on of how I would really feel. I knew it was no longer that silly girl crush that Ino would deem it was (yeah, and she said that she 'truly loved' Sasuke, the nerve!). I knew Sasuke now and he had been a bit open nowadays, especially to me. I was glad… glad that Sasuke would easily change like this.

So, looking around the training grounds, I heard Kakashi-sensei's voice nearby. He was explaining about the tricks to maintain the Sharingan properly. The Uchiha Clan, Sasuke's family, had been a very prestigious clan. Their Kekkei-Genkai, or Blood Jutsu, is the Sharingan, which is seen in their eyes. It appears red-colored with small, black wheels around the corona of the eye. Its pretty amazing that sometimes I would be curious enough as to imagine how it works…

"Sakura?" I heard Kakashi-sensei's voice as I looked up with shock. My thoughts had engulfed my mind that my sensei had surprised me. I looked up at him with my own eyes as his own dark ones stared at me, confused, while he scratched his spiky gray hair. Our sensei is very odd… especially how he kept covering his face with that mask of his…

"What are you doing here? Sasuke is busy right now and…"

Suddenly, Sasuke stepped in and interrupted Kakashi-sensei. Oh Sasuke! There he was… his very sweaty hot look… Gah! I have to concentrate and…

Sasuke spoke and looked up at Kakashi, "It's alright, let her say what she has to say."

I trembled for a moment; I swear I was about to sweat right now like Sasuke and I gulped, "Kakashi-sensei, I promise it will be quick. I just need to tell Sasuke something important." I felt my cheeks turning red as I placed my hands together and started to play with them. Kakashi gave me a befuddled look. He first glanced at Sasuke and then me and again at Sasuke.

Sighing, he nodded his head, "Alright Sakura, but make it quick like you said—Sasuke and I are in a serious training right now."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei!" I bowed my head for respect as I trotted to Sasuke—who didn't seemed pleasant to see me. Well, he always had those 'unpleasant' expressions and he wasn't much to express what he truly had inside. Oh Sasuke, I wish you would show your hidden expressions to me—maybe I would know how to deal with the heavy feelings you burden. Sasuke… open up… please?

"Sakura?" I jumped and looked up; Sasuke had just called my name—and instead of his unpleasant expression, he had the impatient one. Oops, I've been daydreaming and plus, I promised that I'd be quick right? "Sakura, please hurry, I really need to get back to my training."

"Yes, I understand Sasuke," Here it comes; I have to get my words sorted out and I have to take a deep breath. This is it! Please, God, make this be my lucky day! "I want to tell you something very important Sasuke."

"Alright, tell me." He urged; I can tell—he was getting impatient and I didn't want him to feel that way! No, no, Sasuke! I promise what you'll have to hear from me—won't waste your time anymore!

I felt Kakashi-sensei's presence left us for a moment… maybe he was reading his Make-Out Paradise Book again? Oi, Kakashi-sensei… Ah! I have to focus my thoughts; I have to tell Sasuke, right now!

Placing my hands together and looking up at him straight in the eye—cue the blushing and innocent face of mine—I was going to tell him how I truly felt.

"_Sasuke…"_ My lips trembled, staring at his deep, black eyes, _"I…"_

Here it comes, Sakura, say those three very important words to the one you've loved the most… Say those three… Important…

"**No, Sakura."**

Ahh… what?

"Huh?" I blinked for a moment; the red blushes on my cheek began to disappear and my face wasn't that innocent anymore. I blinked again and looked up at Sasuke, who had a very angered face. I tilted my head; I wasn't finished saying my sentence yet! "Sasuke, I wasn't done yet."

"Doesn't matter," He spoke right away, "I obviously know what you're about to say; this is a waste of time Sakura." Then, Sasuke Uchiha walked past me, not caring anymore of what I was going to say. This was unbelievable! Can he? Could he? Was he able to read my face—or even my thoughts, like that? Sasuke… I truly love you… please… respect my feelings!

I grabbed his arm before he would return to our sensei. Inside, I was feeling as if my insides were being torn into half. Every time he would walk away… I would feel the same—I was going to break inside until he'd face me and look me in the eye and tell me that everything was going to be all right. Tears streamed down my face, as I held tight to his arm, whirling him around.

He turned around; a very infuriated face—the same face that I expressed to Ino before… it was the face I didn't want to expect from Sasuke. It was his angered and infuriated face that everyone was afraid of, yet, I wasn't going to be one of those people who would fear it. Gritting my teeth, I wanted to be strong.

"Sasuke, let me finish of what I have to stay," I spoke calmly and strongly, "You didn't let me finish."

His response was nothing, however, his very angered face disappeared.

"I wanted to tell you that I've always cared for you—yet you never let me in. You wouldn't allow me." I said with a hard voice, trembling and wiping my tears with my free hand (since the other hand was holding Sasuke's arm of course). "I love you, Sasuke, can't you respect that? I truly love you. I look up to you and I want to share my love with you. Can you just understand that? I know your revenge comes first but I want to help you and love you… I know you need it."

The words I were saying were all true; they've been locked up for a long time and now, I was obliged to say it in front of him. My vision was still a blur and I couldn't tell what expression or what mood was plastered against his handsome face. I just hope he was starting to understand or comprehend of what he was feeling. I know how Sasuke is and I know what's deep inside of him.

"Please!" I begged, "Just understand!"

Closing my eyes, I held his arm as tight as I could—but I was being careful not to break it. I was hoping for him to do something or say something…

But what he said now was the opposite of what I would expect.

"You're _pathetic_, Sakura."

His harsh voice came to my ears as I slowly raised my head up to face him. He had that frown—a very disciplined yet harsh frown. Could he not know that I had begged for him? Why… would Sasuke be like this? What is it? What could he…

He continued, his voice becoming larger and more emphasized—just like Ino's voice, "I don't have time for these romance fantasies you've been thinking you'll get with me, Sakura."

Soon, it multiplied.

"It's worthless, Sakura, and I'm getting annoyed by it."

"We are ninjas, we don't have time for this. You have to deal with that."

"You are a ninja, focus on your studies, not me."

"It's beginning to get foolish, now get out…"

"Before you **annoy** the hell out of me."

There it was again… the word 'annoying' or 'annoy' in the sentence. Was I… really that annoying? I wonder—maybe that's a 'yes'. I had been annoying and I rarely notice it. Why does the heavens make me an annoying child? Well, I have nothing else that's interesting to say—when all I can feel is nothing…

So, this was all I can do; cry for him when he means absolutely nothing now. His words had stabbed me like a knife and there was nothing else that I can do to repair the wounds. The wounds were worse than the wounds I had harbored from the many missions my team had. It had a deeper cut than the cuts I had from the Exams.

Sasuke… had hurt me, truly now.

It wasn't like the times were he refused my dates and all—this one truly made me realize that Sasuke… wasn't going to be for me… he wasn't going to be for anyone.

Naruto had once told me that.

This… had hurt me. It had hit me against the wall.

It made my heart bleed and no one could see it.

_You cut me open and I keep bleeding…_

_Keep, Keep…_

_Bleeding Love…_

I couldn't face Sasuke anymore and it may be my last to face him—he's such a jerk now. A. Complete. Jerk. The feelings I had for him had decapitated and all the memories that I considered 'being with him' are all washed away and buried. I can no longer recall them. I don't want to be with Sasuke anymore… if only I could…

Then, it came over me; _I slapped him_.

Slapped him across the face—**HARD**. I may be the first person to ever catch him off guard and actually slapped him. I may be the first girl to ever have done that. I felt no regret though for slapping him… I no longer felt remorse or care. I know I'm not the kind to do that and I was the last unexpected person to ever do that to the Uchiha Sasuke—but I take no chance. He had hurt me and I had the right to.

I believe Kakashi-sensei is watching us.

The tears were now rivulets across my face as I looked bravely to Sasuke and spoke:

"**Fine. Never see me again then."**

* * *

_After the Sasuke Incident..._

_I wish—_I thought that same day after the incident with Sasuke—_That there were someone I could truly love. _

I know it's a silly wish but that was all I could think of. I was such a hopeless romantic. I read romance novels in my spare time, daydream of me and some wonderful guy, and watch romance movies. Sometimes, I wonder, if I don't have a Prince Charming out there—that maybe I was going grow up as some grumpy old lady with 27 cats in a mansion and have no family to speak of. No, no, no! I don't want that life…

I want a life, in the future, where everything was just the way it was. Where everything was perfect. I would live in a nice, conservative house, here, in Konohagure with my husband, who might be a handsome ANBU ninja, and children—hm, maybe one or two? I don't know! And then, my occupation would be a house mom who works part time as a medical ninja. Yes, that's the life I want… I wonder if it'll ever come true.

So there I was, sitting on a bench that was just close to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Ino had not come home yet. Maybe she was torturing someone else and got fed up with me. I had dried my tears already and Sasuke wasn't even on my mind anymore. I had lost all my so-called feelings for him and I bet, he wouldn't care anyway. He was just too busy focusing on his Sharingan.

I'll never look at Sasuke the same ever again.

While I was there, sulking my head off, I didn't notice my teammate Naruto Uzumaki, walking along with Hinata Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara. They were heading towards where I was seated and the first person that took notice of me was…

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto's loud voice said above me as he stopped his pace. Hinata and Shikamaru did as well.

Oh Naruto, he was a kind friend, even if he was a little annoying. I always look to him as a brother. Naruto had these strong and determined cerulean-blue eyes, a fox-grin that always cheers me up, and funny, blonde spiky-hair. Yes, he was a typical troublemaker all right… but now, his trouble-makings are very seldom. Maybe the Naruto I once knew was already growing up very fast.

Looking up at him, Hinata, and Shikamaru, I smiled, hiding the pain that used to reside inside, "Hey Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, and Shikamaru-san, what brings you all here?"

"O-Oh… well… S-Sakura…" Hinata stuttered, trying to regain her nervousness. This was Hinata Hyuuga from the Hyuuga Clan. Even if the Hyuuga Clan had a sense of pride and discipline and were considered scary from the rest of the clan (aside from the Uchiha Clan), Hinata was a very kind Hyuuga and was very shy too. She and I became fast friends ever since. Also, I already knew she had quite a crush on Naruto and vowed to keep that as secret.

Continuing her sentence, Hinata spoke clearly, her opaque-eyes looking down at the ground, "N-Naruto-kun, S-Shikamaru, a-and I were taking a walk to the bookstore and we saw these new graphic novels w-we wanted t-to buy."

"Really?" I tilted my head, seeing that this conversation was quite interesting, "What graphic novel did you saw?"

I had heard of Graphic Novels before, they were these comics that continued and volumes. They were like comic books but they had plots veiled into them, making them continue in separate volumes. I was never that interested in them but I've read a few (since Naruto wanted me to) and I got a little bit more understanding of what they are.

Shikamaru scratched his forehead and spoke, "Well… its…" He thought for a moment, his dark eyes looking up at the sky and watching the clouds pass by. This was Shikamaru Nara, the lazy ninja.

Even if he was the lazy ninja, Shikamaru seemed a little laid back. Even his appearance was also laid back. He had black hair that was tied up to a gravity-defying ponytail and his eyes were always expressed a sense of relaxation. He was also the only Chuunin our age. Beneath his lazy mind, he had this sense of strategy… that he can think of quick plans in a minute. He was also a good leader.

"What was the title again Naruto? I forgot already." Shikamaru groaned, looking at Naruto.

"Oh, well I have it right here!" Naruto checked his ninja pouch, where he seems to keep interesting things in there and took out a graphic novel. I tried to take a peek at it but Naruto's hand was just in the way.

Naruto smiled, "The title's 'Fullmetal Alchemist'."

"Yeah, 'Fullmetal Alchemist', that's what it's called, Sakura-san." Shikamaru smiled as Hinata giggled quietly. I blinked and laughed along.

"May I see?" I asked, holding my hand out. Naruto gladly gave the graphic novel to me.

Slowly touching the cover with my fingers, the first thing I saw was a blonde-haired boy with fierce golden eyes. Looking closely, the artwork was very well and how the boy looked like, it seemed that he was hiding something secretive, like you just want to know what he was hiding. Next to him was a large armor, which also had eyes just like the boy, even if it was barely noticeable. However, my eyes switched back at the boy… I was getting curious of what was hidden…

Beneath his honey golden eyes.

Naruto seemed to notice of how I was really looking into the book that he said, "Sakura-chan, since you seem to want to read it, you can borrow it for a while!"

I looked up, startled. Would he really want to do that? Naruto…

"Oh, I couldn't Naruto, you just bought the book right?" I shifted my hand out while holding the book, "Here."

"No, Sakura-chan," Declined the ever-nice and caring Naruto and smiled at me, "I've read that volume already and I'm up to the twelfth one. If you want, I can lend you my other ones."

"No, Naruto, really… I…!"

Already, Naruto checked his large pouch and took out the second volume, the third, the fourth, and the fifth, "Here you go!"

"Ah… Naruto…" I was already holding five books in my arms, "Are you sure…?"

"Yeah! It's a really good book!" The Uzumaki jumped up excitedly, "It has lots of plot twists and everything! Oh wait, you should really know the summary first! Okay… its about the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and his little brother, Alphonse Elric, and they committed the greatest taboo in alchemy, which is doing Human Transmutation on their dead mother and then, Edward lost his limbs in the process and his brother, his soul got stuck in a suit of armor and—,"

"Hold up, Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You don't want to spoil her the surprise."

"You've read it too, Shikamaru-san?" I questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much. Its really popular here in Konohagure, even Hinata had read some herself." The Nara laughed and looked at Hinata. Hinata honestly had nodded.

"Y-Yes, Sakura-chan, I h-have…" Hinata smiled weakly, showing her Fullmetal Alchemist Key chain.

Naruto soon chimed in, "So give it a try! See if you like it, Sakura-chan!"

I looked at Naruto's face and he had this pout-look on that was forcing me to read it. Oh, Naruto, please, not that pout look. He also had those puppy cerulean-blue eyes that I feel so weak upon that I just HAVE to do it. I just HAVE to read it. Finally, I glanced at the books again and sighed.

Nodding my head, I replied, "Alright Naruto, I'll read it. If I don't like it, I'll return it to you. Is that okay?"

"That's fine!" Naruto said, waving his hands to signal that it was indeed okay for him, "Besides, I don't think you'll return it to me any sooner. It's a really good comic book; you'll love it when you turn the first page. Its as if you'll be swept away to that world or something."

Swept away, huh? I smiled and nodded my head, "Okay, Naruto, I'll read the first volume once I get home, I have to go now, see you later guys!"

"Bye Sakura-chan!" The knuckleheaded Naruto waved, along with Shikamaru and Hinata by his side. Those three are such nice friends…

Oh great, what am I going to do with these five volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist? I never knew it was such a popular series here in Konohagure and I'm already curious to know what the series is about. Sighing, I have to get home, I really need a shower and maybe I can start reading like I said.

_Naruto did say it was interesting—_I thought, looking up at the blue sky that was fading to the red-orange afternoon sky—_And it's a nice hobby. Maybe it will take my thoughts away from Sasuke and the other events that had happened today. _Cradling the books in my arms gently and carefully, I finally headed home.

* * *

_Haruno Residence..._

"Are you sure you're heading to bed this early, Sakura?" My mother, Nadeshiko Haruno, asked as she was taking the plates and cups to the sink, "I mean, its only 7:00 in the evening. Maybe you should go out and have fresh air outside for a little bit.

"No thanks, mom," I said, pretending to yawn. I had already took a bath and ate dinner, now I just want to get my hands on that comic book and start reading, "I had a really hard day today."

"Did you train?" She asked me, her green eyes looking at my own. My mother was a splitting image of me, except with long pink-hair and less large of a forehead. My mom was my role model and we were very close. I had never known about my father and my mother rarely talks about him.

I replied while helping her put away the plates, "A little bit. I was able to get some of my taijutsu strength up."

"That's good, at least your training has been a bit more healthier and stronger. I always had faith on you, Sakura." My mother smiled one of her sweetest smiles. I wish I had her smile—though some people said I already have, I always denied it. My mother was never a ninja but she did understood some basics, which I was very thankful for. I didn't want a mother who didn't know what I was doing.

"Yeah…" I said, after helping her that I sat back at the chair, "Mom, I'll be going up now, good night!"

"Huh? Oh, good night. Make sure you have a good night's sleep!" My mom waved and smiled at me again.

I smiled back, "Good night mom, I love you."

When I finally went upstairs, I quickly changed to my nightgown. It was one of my favorites for it had cherry blossom embroidery at the bottom. It didn't look like a nightgown though—it looked more like a sundress or something. Slipping in my white slippers, similar to the style of the blue-flame ninja shoes, however, it was softer and more comfortable.

"Alright, like I said to Naruto, I'll start reading the book." I said to myself and grabbed the Fullmetal Alchemist Volume One Book on my study table, sat down on my bed, and turned the first page. _Let's see if Naruto did say I'll be swept away by the first page…_

_**Chapter One:**_

_**The Two Alchemists**_

_Not a very interesting title, but sure, okay… _Then, in the middle of the page, there was a strange mark. It looked like a star with six points, two dragons intertwining at the middle, and many strange writing in a language I did not know. I became fascinated and carefully, with one finger, I placed it upon the mark and what I did not know is that…

"W-What's happening?" I spoke when I felt a strange energy coming inside of me. I dropped the book and soon, the book opened wider, the strange mark growing larger and glowing brighter, the light emanating from it that I had to cover half of my face to shield my eyes. Scooting away from it on my bed, I shivered in fear; I didn't know what was going to happen to me.

Then, the strange mark had stretched and it had opened. A voice from the mark spoke:

_**Teachings do not speak of pain have no meaning…**_

…_**Because…**_

_**Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return…**_

_**Are you ready to share that fate, Haruno Sakura?**_

The ancient voice was speaking to me—and it knew my name! What's going on here? I think Naruto missed the part of 'This book is going to suck me in so be careful!' warning. I didn't know how to comprehend with it; I didn't even start to read the first part and this book already wants me in there!

Then, I knew that the voice was waiting for me to reply. What will I say? 'Get the hell away, I don't know you?' thing? Oh, this is so confusing but I have to say something now or I will DIE if I don't. My eyes blinking while my lips are trembling—I don't know what to say… No or Yes?

"Why would you pick me of all people—er, book?"

_**The reason of that I could not tell…**_

_**But you seem eligible enough to want to know what goes in this book…**_

_**And you wondered…**_

_**What is beneath his golden eyes?"**_

_**You wished to know and now I'll grant it to you.**_

Crap! How does this thing know? Well, is it even a thing or is it just a book that's talking? Oh… gods help me!

_**Haruno Sakura, Shinobi of Konohagure…**_

_**Welcome…**_

_**To The World of the Damned:**_

_**The World of Alchemists.**_

* * *

Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2: Loss of Words

**Renkinjutsu **  
**By:** Pure Sakura Haruno  
**Summary:** Naruto X-over. When Naruto lends the new, hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy! Will she ever go home? Or would she even want to?**  
Timeline:** In Naruto, after the Chuunin Exams. In Fullmetal Alchemist, manga-verse, before Hughes' was killed.  
**Pairings:** Edward/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Roy/Riza, One-Side: Sasuke/Sakura

**Author's Notes:** I had rewritten Chapter One to a better chapter and thank you for the reviews! I'd appreciate it but I would still love more, please. By the way, I decided to make the chapter easier to follow and everything. And if you must know, Gracia Hughes is Maes Hughes' wife while Elycia is Maes' daughter.

Oh and the one who wrote '_Fullmetal Ninja_', inspired me to write this chapter. I credit the original idea to be hers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto / Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa.

No flames but nice, acceptable, and constructive criticism is allowed.

* * *

**_Chapter Two—Loss of Words_**

* * *

_They would rather shoulder their pain themselves,  
Than cause their loved ones to worry.  
That's why they won't say anything._  
—_**Maes Hughes, Fullmetal Alchemist Volume Four**_

* * *

_Central Streets, Amestris;_

"Mama, mama!" A little girl had shouted that beautiful morning as she tugged a woman's shirt, "Mama, when do you think daddy will come home?"

The woman, who was her mother, smiled as she nodded her head, "Oh, I don't know, he still might be at the hospital, visiting the Elric Brothers. Do you remember them Elycia? They visited our house once to see daddy."

Elycia Hughes blinked, scratching her light brown hair. She was a little confused and tried to recall some of her memories when the Elric Brothers had visited. To no avail, she could not remember. All she could know in her small little head is that her birthday party was going to arrive soon! She would get all her presents and some decorations and get the cake that her daddy had bought her!

"No, I don't know, mama…" Little Elycia frowned but then smiled, changing the subject, "Do you think Winry would come?"

Her mother, who's name we finally reveal as Gracia Hughes, nodded, "Of course she will! She even said so herself, remember Elycia?"

"But why isn't she staying at our house again, Mama?" Elycia asked, trying to reach up playfully from the ground, trying to touch her mother's light brown hair. "I mean, why she go?" She was only two-years-old, going to be three-years-old—her sentences are still incomplete. Gracia sighed; her daughter loved asking so many questions.

"Well, she's staying to a hotel close to the hospital right now for the sake of her friends," Gracia replied, holding the groceries. She and her daughter, Elycia, had just went grocery shopping that morning, "You know how Winry worries about Ed and Al but she promises to be there for your third birthday party."

Elycia cheered happily, "Yay! I can't wait to get all my presents and all the cake and see all my friends, Mama! I hope they all come!"

Gracia patted Elycia's head, "Yes they will Elycia, it will be very exciting."

Nodding, Elycia grabbed her mother's free hand as the two proceeded to go home. As they were walking, Elycia starts to examine her surroundings, curious to see if she would see anything interesting. She was a child, very surprised to see the way of life in the outside. She wanted to run around and discover new things. She was a very energetic little girl.

Finally, after wishing Elycia would see something, her wish had finally been granted.

"Mama, there someone with pink hair!" She said, tugging her mother's hand to signal her, "There a girl! She has pink hair!"

"Oh what are you talking about, Elycia?" Gracia asked, looking up at the sky. Her little girl was having illusions again or she's making up stories to get attention. Besides, pink hair? Gracia didn't think that kind of hair would actually exist. I mean, who has pink hair? "Elycia, come on, stop playing around."

"No, I serious, Mama!" Shouted Elycia, jumping up and down, "There a pink girl!" She soon pulled her mother to have a closer inspection, however, Gracia started to think that maybe what Elycia was describing is an abandoned doll with pink hair or something like that. She just couldn't believe the nonsense her own daughter was pulling.

"Elycia, what you probably see is just a doll, let's go now before daddy gets a bit worried." Gracia insisted but then notices that her daughter was no longer holding her hand and was going in an alleyway of where she thinks she had seen the girl with pink hair.

"Elycia! Where are you going?! You know its dangerous for you to run around by yourself!" Shouted Gracia, coming after her daughter, panicked.

In the alleyway, little Elycia saw her—the mysterious pink-haired girl, lying against the muddy-brick wall. Green eyes widening with excitement, she approached the pink-haired girl and knelt down, curious. She examined her and Elycia noticed that the pink-haired girl was wearing a white dress with pretty pink patterns, weird styled-sandals that were white, and had a headband over her pink hair. As a child, Elycia never saw something this weird.

"Elycia! Elycia!" called Gracia, worried, "Elycia, where are you?"

"Mama, here!" The small Hughes called, waving her hand. Gracia had saw this and exhaled a breath of relief and ran to her.

"Never do that again, Elycia, you scared me half to death!" Gracia chided, "You know what how your father will react if he finds out that you're missing…"

"I know, Mama!" pouted Elycia, "Here the pink-haired girl!"

"For the last time, Elycia, there is no—," Finally, Gracia was aware of her surroundings in the alleyway and when she looked to where Elycia was kneeling down, she now had seen the pink-haired girl that Elycia was pointing at and oh, how Gracia was shocked that her eyes widened. "…Pink-haired girl…"

Stepping forward, Gracia knelt down to examine the poor girl and saw that there were a few bruises in her arms but all and all, she looked like she was at perfect health. What Gracia noticed the most is that the girl was wearing a headband with a strange sign upon it that she had never seen. It wasn't like the crest she had seen in the State Alchemist pocket-watch or anything like that…

"Oh… Elycia, stay here, I'll get some help from Mr. Barnes the baker, maybe he can carry her to our house." Gracia said, standing up, "Stay here and if she wakes up, tell her to stay there. Someone will help her."

"Okay, mama." Elycia grinned; she wanted to protect the pink-haired girl!

"Good girl," Gracia kissed Elycia and ran off to find Mr. Barnes.

* * *

"_It's worthless, Sakura, and I'm getting annoyed by it."_

"_We are ninjas, we don't have time for this. You have to deal with that."_

"_You are a ninja, focus on your studies, not me."_

"_It's beginning to get foolish, now get out…"_

"_Before you __**annoy**__ the hell out of me."_

"_Sasuke…" I spoke, crying my eyes out, "Why do you think of me that way? I had loved you for such a long time… can't you ever expect that?"_

"Sasuke…" I mumbled from my sleep, rustling around on wherever I was lying on. I knew that I would never look at Sasuke the same ever again but this—this event kept repeating in my mind. It makes me ask myself: 'Was he really this cruel and cold?'. I had always expected more from Sasuke—I really did and now, it just made me wonder of why he was like this.

As I kept rustling around, I felt something soft under me—soft and comfortable. Was it a bed…? I continued to feel the surroundings of where I was laying. I felt sheets over me—definitely a blanket and I felt something under my head—it was definitely a pillow. Okay, so I was in a bed. Joy.

I was probably in my room… and wait, was it all a dream? A dream that a large mark came from the book and sucked me in there…? Oh it has to be a dream. It better be, or else I'll be lost and everything! Please let me be in my room… please let me be in my…

My eyes opened and the first thing I saw was a ceiling with a wooden ceiling fan attached at the top. Error, I had no ceiling fan so obviously I wasn't in my room.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up from the bed to see what else was in my new surroundings. I was in a bed—but it wasn't mine because I had pink sheets and my pillows had cherry blossom decorations on it and this bed just had white everywhere. Whit sheets, white pillows, and white covers. Was this person obsessed with the color white or they just couldn't afford decorated bed sheets? I will never know.

I continued to look around and noticed there was a side table at my left and on that side table there was a vase full of yellow flowers, a glass of water, and some gingerbread cookies. Well, whoever put me in this room was very kind to give me something to eat and something to drink—I was incredibly hungry right now. Also, my headband was there! They must have taken it off for me for it might be hard for me to sleep in.

Then, I noticed windows—one at my right and left. They had transparent white curtains with decorated flowers on it. Now there's something decorated. Sunlight was emanating from outside—does that mean its morning already? Had I been asleep? I tried to examine the room to see if there was a clock there but to no avail, there was none. Darn, I really need to know what time it was.

Scratching my head, I felt a little bit of back pain to whatever that had happened. All I could remember was Naruto lending me five volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist and then, me, turning to the first page and seeing that mark that became so big that it wanted to suck me in and that was it… that was all I could remember.

Blinking, I decided to get out of the bed and as I got out, I found my white sandals were right next to the bed. Quickly grabbing it, I put it on and adjusted the soft buckles to make it more tight and manageable. Smiling, I decided to see the person who was kind enough to place my things to where they are. I knew it was a woman—because what kind of man would have flowery curtains—unless if it was a gay guy.

I opened the door gently and found a hallway with other doors in it and at the middle, there were stairs that led downstairs. Carefully closing the door behind me, I decided to walk down the stairs. I had to be careful on meeting the person too, what if it was an enemy shinobi or something? I had to know—but wait, I don't have my weapons! Argh… oh well, I'll have some Taijutsu techniques right?

Finally, I reached down the steps and when I did, I sniffed the aroma of something that was freshly bake. Was it cake? Cookies? Or something delicious? I didn't know but my stomach was calling me towards it. No! I mustn't! What if this was all a trick… so then, I quietly walked towards the doorway that led to the living room, I think.

Coming in, I never saw a living room with such a different style. It seemed conservative but it was huge too. The fireplace had a different style, the couches, the tables, and everything! Where was I? Then, something caught my eye at the other side of the oddly styled living room.

A small girl was playing with her dolls on the carpet.

I walked closer to her… she was wearing otherworldly clothing. It was a dress but in a different order. Plus, the dolls were differently styled too! More artistic and realistic. Okay, this was a bit weird… However, the girl was adorable. She had cute pigtails tied in her hair and bright green eyes. She was humming a nice little tune.

Then, she had taken notice of my presence and turned around to me. Oh, I was expecting her to be freaked but then, she had smiled.

Suddenly, she shouted something—words coming out of her lips…

In a **language** I _could_ not **understand**.

Where was I truly?

(Author's Notes: Sakura speaks a language different from the people in the Fullmetal Alchemist Universe because she does not know Amestrian.)

* * *

Elycia played with her dolls that day. She was excited inside for she was hoping that the pink-haired girl would wake up and maybe play with her. She wasn't aware of the fact that maybe the girl was bad or good—for she was a child, she did not know what was between bad or good and Elycia was a very innocent child.

"La la…" She sang an unknown song while she played with the dolls. Her mother, Gracia, was in the kitchen, baking her special birthday cake and other assortment of foods for her party—which was two days away. "La laaa…"

Then, little Elycia felt an uneasy presence and small footsteps coming near her and when she turned around, it was the pink-haired girl! She scrutinized her a little and Elycia noticed the girl had green eyes—just like hers, except it was prettier! Then, she smiled.

"Mama! Mama! The Pink-haired girl awake!" She screamed, waving her hands together. But what she had not noticed is that the girl had a confused expression on her face—and that she could not understand what she was saying, "Hi! What's your name?"

The girl could not respond; she was clearly confused at what she was saying—and still, Elycia could not see this.

"No need to shy! What is your name?"

* * *

I saw that the girl's lips kept moving yet I could not understand what she was saying when the words would come out of her small mouth. Her voice was adorable yet the adorable words she might be saying I could not comprehend with. I was truly in a different place—or maybe in a different country that says such a different language! How will I survive? I need a Translation Book…

But, I don't know what language they're speaking—it sounds firm and a bit fast but… firm? I don't know. Firm-an?

"I don't know what you're saying, sweetheart," I said, smiling sadly.

The little girl looked at me, confused. She, too, could not understand what I was saying. I was worried. How can I associate with her—and she was just a small girl. Oh, think Sakura, think! I bit my lip.

"…??" She said something—with a tone of question. Was she asking who was I? What was I? Or something like that? I wouldn't know! I bit my lip a little harder this time as I noticed her hand was gesturing someone to come in. Looking around, I saw a woman coming in the room with a worried face but when she looked at me, she gave me a welcoming smile.

Like the girl, she was wearing an odd styled dress—something I'd never see before but yet it has beautiful decors around it. I guess dresses like that are popular here… in wherever I am. I looked at my own dress, it was almost a similar so I guess I would fit in.

The woman had smiled at me and approached me. Then, her lips started to part and move—and the words that were coming up, I couldn't understand. It was the same firm and careful accent, like how the little girl was speaking. I could not understand this so all I could do was body gestures.

I shook my head, meaning a 'no' and then I pointed to my lips and pretended to talk. I tried to signal the woman that I couldn't understand what she was saying. I had to do a bit of body language for now until someone could show me properly on how to talk this strange language…

Then, it quickly dawned me… was I in the book? To think that the styles and the language was different—was I truly in the Fullmetal Alchemist Book? I didn't know because I didn't even read the book yet until I would know that there is some proof that I am indeed in the book.

The woman saw my body language and finally understood what I meant and bowed her head and repeated what I did except at the end, she did a nod. Ah! Finally she could understand.

Soon, she did another gesture. She pointed to herself:

"Gracia. Hughes. Gra-Ci-A. Hu-hes." She spoke. The must be her name! The woman's name was Gracia Hughes.

I repeated, saying the name by the syllable correctly, "Gra-Ci-A. Hu-hes? Gracia Hughes?"

She nodded, smiling wider this time. She soon pointed to the little girl and spoke, "Elycia. Hughes. E-Ly-Ci-A. Hu-Hes."

Oh! That's the little girl's name and then I repeated, "E-Ly-Ci-A. Hu-Hes? Elycia Hughes?"

She smiled again and the little girl clapped her hands and jumped up. Okay, so the little girl, Elycia, was the daughter of the woman, Gracia. Now I understood. Elycia is the little girl and Gracia is her mother. Okay… Sakura, you're on the roll now! Cha!

I looked back at Gracia who soon pointed to me and started to gesture her hands in a circular movement—meaning she wants my name. I nodded and pointed to myself:

"Sakura. Haruno. Sa-Ku-Ra. Ha-Ru-No."

Gracia blinked and soon repeated, "Sa-Ku-Ra. Ha-Ru-No? Sakura Haruno?"

I nodded my head and grinned and she grinned back. Soon, the little girl Elycia grabbed my arm and repeated what her mother had said, "Sakura! Haruno!"

I nodded my head again—body language is the only thing I could do for now… until I could fully understand of what the language is.

Suddenly, I had an idea popped in my head. Maybe… if I pointed to the objects I don't know, I could find out the word. That could be great idea! I need to know some basic objects and understand of what they mean in their language. This could get me closer to what they meant before I can know what's 'What', 'Who' 'How', 'When', and 'Where', in their language.

"Gracia." I called her and she looked at me.

When I got her attention, I pointed to the table and shrugged, meaning I needed to know the word.

And then, she understood and said, "Table." Except that was in her language.

I pointed to another object and she said it in her language.

"Chair."

Another time.

"Window."

And another.

"Curtain."

"Couch."

"Carpet."

"Dolls."

And then, stopping for a moment. I tried to remember how she said all the objects in that language and repeated it, "Chair, window, curtain, couch, carpet—dolls?"

I seemed to pronounce them clearer with a tint of my accent because when I looked at Gracia and Elycia, they clapped their hands again. I smiled and clapped my hands also. Then, we continued—I pointed to another object.

"Fireplace."

"Ceiling."

"Wall."

"Door."

"Wood."

"Cement."

I repeated the words in that language, "Fireplace. Ceiling. Wall. Door. Wood. Cement." They clapped again. Okay, one more time. I pointed to more objects and did some gestures. I tried the harder and specific objects this time…

"Stairs."

"Railings."

"Steps."

"Doorknob."

"Windowsill."

"Glass."

"Mirror."

I followed the words through my lips, "Stairs. Railings. Steps. Doorknob. Windowsill. Glass. Mirror." They clapped again and approved of it… this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Gracia smiled at this and enjoyed it. She loved to teach new things—especially the language to the new guest. And Elycia seemed to be having some fun too. Though, Gracia was quite curious of the newcomer, Sakura Haruno. Her name seemed pretty distant and it was closely related to the names of people who lived in Xing. Her accent seemed like the people of Xing, except it flows higher and clearer, unlike the people of Xing, who had a rough accent.

And plus, Sakura had pink-hair and most Xing people had black hair and those 'shifty eyes' that her husband had spoke of once. Sakura's facial appearance can fit an Amestrian, especially with the wide green eyes she had… but how could she be closely related to the Xing Culture? That was what Gracia was thinking. However, she decided to shrug that off for a while and continued to teach Sakura of how to speak their language.

She had already showed Sakura the many basic objects in their language and Sakura had memorized it quickly. Gracia thought that Sakura was indeed intelligent and the look of Sakura's face, she was eager to know so much more.

_Okay, since she had learned some objects, she has to use words to describe it, use it, and everything else in between. _Gracia soon saw Sakura gestured the feeling of wood.

"Hard." Gracia spoke in her language and the pink-haired girl blinked.

Then, her lips parted to repeat what she had said, "Hard. Wood hard."

Gracia nodded her head and then continued, "_The_. Wood. **Is**. Hard. The wood is hard." She wanted to put the connecting words so Sakura could understand it clearer. Crossing her fingers, Gracia hoped Sakura can understand it and repeat.

At first, Sakura's face went a little confused and then, she grinned, nodding her head and repeated, "The. Wood. Is. Hard… The wood is hard! Gracia, the wood is hard!" She had said her first complete sentence in their language. Gracia laughed loudly and hugged Sakura while Elycia was cheering on behind them.

"Sakura." Gracia did a body language and shook her hand, signaling the word 'Good' in her language, "Good. _Good_. **Job**. Sakura. Good job, Sakura."

Sakura had tilted her head and then smiled.

Later, they did more word tricks…

* * *

I had learned so much of the language in one day—it seemed so much easier to comprehend and learning this language was quick and easy. It was already almost evening and Gracia, Elysia, and I were at the table with a book. Gracia showed me the letters and words and it had 'A' and 'B' and letters of the alphabet and now I can understand it a little bit more. We began to read it one by one…

When I didn't understand a word, I would do a gesture of asking what it means. Gracia would point it out if she had it in her house or something like that. The connecting words were the hardest for me to understand. I just couldn't do that. I know what 'is' and 'the' in their language but I needed to know more of it.

Hours had passed and I finally could grasp some connecting words and they're combinations like 'don't' and 'wasn't' in their language. Finally, I was able to speak a bit more to them.

"Any more, Gracia?" I asked in their language.

"Yes, you must learn more." She answered and I was pretty sure that is what she had said because she had nodded her head. I smiled and gestured her to continue.

Gracia did not gave up on me and so did Elycia. They wanted to help me get used to the cultures here—and I was thankful that they had found me from wherever I had come from. We soon learned past tense, present tense, and future tense. It was hard for me to understand and we had to repeat and wrote some on paper for me to study. Soon, Gracia wrote me a worksheet of simple praises and things for me that I can remember.

I hugged her and thanked her in their language. "Thank. You." I smiled.

Gracia nodded, "No problem, Sakura."

I also hugged Elycia, "Thank. You, Elycia."

"Uh-Huh!" She said with her cute voice.

Finally, we had stood up from the table and Gracia said, "It is time to eat." She gestured a sign that we were going to eat. I nodded.

"Eat?" I repeated, "What you have?"

"What _do_ you have." Corrected Gracia; I had missed a word in the sentence and blushed embarrassingly and laughed. Gracia soon showed me we're going to have a nice soup dinner and my hungry wanted it right now, for it started to growl.

Then, we got seated and started to eat dinner. The soup was very nice and wonderful that I started to eat faster than I thought. Elycia was giggling because of the sight of my eating and Gracia just laughed along. I looked up at them and laughed also as I grabbed the napkin next to me and wiped it with my mouth.

Dinner proceeded in silence as I finished my plate and decided to take it up to the sink, knowing it was quite rude for me to leave it on the table and let Gracia take it herself… then, it reminded me of something. The night before—before that book had sucked me in, my mother and I just had dinner and I was helping her clean the plates. My mother… Nadeshiko Haruno… I really missed her and her smile…

And I remembered, the last words I said to her was, _"Good night, I love you."_

"Mother…" I spoke, trembling a bit. I was homesick a little—the thought of my mother and everything around here. I wondered if she had missed me—and I wondered if my friends had missed me. Naruto… Hinata… Shikamaru… Kiba… Shino… Choji… Kakashi-sensei… even both Sasuke and Ino I even missed. Just the thought of them made me want to just cry now.

Then, Gracia had noticed me and came up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Sakura?"

I turned to her, a tear slipping out. I wiped it clearly, "Gracia."

She smiled warmly at me and patted my head, "Are you okay, Sakura?"

I understood fully of what she meant and I answered back in her language, "I. Am. Good."

Gracia nodded her head in full understanding that I did not want to talk about it. She soon took my dish and said that I should take a rest for now—she'll do the dishes. She also told Elycia should get some sleep too. I smiled, finally comprehending with the language—though I still need to learn more.

Elycia held my hand and we both walked out of the kitchen to proceed upstairs.

_**Knock. Knock.**_

I jumped up and I heard someone knocking at the door. Elycia had immediately let go of my hand to run to the door and when she had opened it, she shouted…

"**Daddy!"**


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets of the Stars

**Renkinjutsu**  
**By:** Pure Sakura Haruno  
**Summary:** Naruto X-over. When Naruto lends the new, hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy! Will she ever go home? Or would she even want to?  
**Timeline:** In Naruto, after the Chuunin Exams. In Fullmetal Alchemist, manga-verse, before Hughes' was killed.  
**Pairings:** Edward/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Roy/Riza, one-sided: Sasuke/Sakura

**Author's Notes:** I would like to thank, once again, for the readers who had kindly reviewed. So, please, review each time you end the chapter. I'd love to hear of what you think! If I don't, I wouldn't know what would be wrong or right or something like that! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Sakura is twelve and a half, so is the other Naruto Genin, Edward is fifteen, Alphonse if fourteen, Winry is fourteen.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto / Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa.

No flames are accepted but acceptable, kind, and constructive criticism is okay.

* * *

_**Chapter Three—Secrets of the Stars**_

* * *

_You told me once,  
That there was something…  
You were too afraid to tell me._  
—_**Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist Volume Four**_

* * *

_Hughes Home, Central, Amestris;_

It was already evening and everything in the streets were going to close up as Maes Hughes yawned heavily, his eyes narrowing down to the ground because of what he went through in the Hospital. He had just visited the Elric Brothers in the Hospital after the incident at Laboratory Five and the brothers were seemingly acting weird around him that they wouldn't even tell much of the events that had went in the Forbidden Lab.

Being the big-hearted and caring man he was, Maes just had to know what went on with the brothers and whom they had met there. Sure, all he got out from them was the notorious Barry the Chopper, who was somehow attached in a suit of armor, just like Alphonse Elric, and that was it. The two wouldn't tell a thing.

When he asked Maria Ross and Denny Brosh, the two bodyguards of the Elric Brothers, all they had said that the Elric Brothers were inside and a big explosion had happened and that was it. Maes, frustrated at that time, ordered them to get something out of them and the two just had to agree.

The Lieutenant Colonel Hughes of the Military: Deathly worried of the two stubborn brothers.

"Ah, what am I ever going to do with them?" He questioned himself; scratching his head and heading to the street were his home was on.

Right now, he decided to shrug off everything that had occurred lately—he also needed to worry about how his new assistant, Sheska, was going to handle all the bookkeeping during the "Investigation Division" that was going around the Military with scar. Oh was he an evil man, letting her have to do his work—overtime. Well, he had right reasons:

One; he wanted to see if the Elric Brothers were a-okay after the crash of Laboratory Five.

Two; his sweet and darling daughter, Elycia Hughes, was going to turn three-years-old soon! So, as a lovable daddy who dotes on his daughter like there's no tomorrow! He needed presents, invitations, balloons, presents…

Three; He was just so damn lazy to do any of the Scar work. Besides, he'd leave it to his best friend, Colonel Mustang, and the gang.

Laughing to himself, Maes finally arrived to his home. He really wanted to see his wife's beautiful face and his daughter's energetic greeting. Hopefully, she'd be awake at this time to greet her daddy. Elycia always waited for her daddy to come home!

"Oh my sweet, Elycia!" Maes said, sighing as he knocked on the door.

* * *

_**Knock. Knock.**_

I jumped up and I heard someone knocking at the door. Elycia had immediately let go of my hand to run to the door and when she had opened it, she shouted…

"**Daddy!"**

_Daddy…?—_I thought as I turned and walked to where Elycia was to see a man, who was not that old or young, standing there at the doorway with a bright smiling face. From looking at him, I could tell he was a complete family man and dotes on his family constantly. Of course, I didn't know what to do. What if Elycia's father didn't accept me like Gracia or Elycia? I just had to wait and see.

I watched carefully from behind as Elycia gave her father a big bear hug and her father, smiling and kissing her little face constantly. He had cradled her and loved her. He absolutely had loved her.

In the back of my mind—I started to think, _If my father were still here with me and my mother at Konohagure no Sato, would he treat me like that?_

Like I said, I never knew much of my own father and my mother, Nadeshiko, rarely spoke of him. The only time she spoke of him was when he had left and 'gave' me something that I will find out soon enough. I could tell, in my mother's eyes, that my mom had really loved my father and wondered where he was. I, too, wonder who my father was and what he looked like.

Suddenly, trying to comprehend, Elycia spoke, "Daddy, there a pink-haired pretty girl here!"

Elycia soon held her father's hand and pulled him towards me, "This is Sakura Haruno. Sa-Ku-Ra. Ha-Ru-No."

Her father had looked at me with observation. He can probably tell that he had never seen a natural pink-haired girl with green eyes and maybe—with an unusually large forehead. Oh, please, please accept me. I didn't know how to read his emotion… I didn't know if he despised me and didn't approve me. Sooner or later, I knew I was going to be kicked out!

I looked at him straight in the eye with a shy smile. He was kind of a good-looking man (no wonder why Gracia had married him). He had black gelled in hair and hazel eyes. He also had some style of beard going on too. He was different from people in Konohagure I had seen, I guess, seeing that I'm in a different country or something.

Then, he did the opposite of what I thought. He had smiled widely and shook my hand widely.

Soon, he started to say some words really fast and knowing some of the words of this language for a day, I tried to understand… I think he said:

"Sakura… Haruno?" He smiled, "Nice to meet you! And wow, you're the second prettiest girl that I had met as a guest this week! Welcome to our humble home and…!!"

He was speaking too fast that I didn't know what to do. So, while he was shaking my hand constantly, I was just smiling and nodding. I just hope I could say something back in their language that would signal him that I couldn't understand his firm and fast words. It felt like he was a tape recorder that had been sped-up or something, no offense to him of course!

Finally, I noticed that Gracia had came in and noticed the commotion. She immediately walked towards us and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

The man, who was Elycia's father and Gracia's husband, looked at Gracia with confusion and whispered something in his ear. I can tell, in Gracia's eyes, that she wanted to talk privately with her husband and when she looked at me, she signaled me that I should get Elycia to bed.

I had nodded politely and walked over to the little Elycia and told her we should go to bed.

"Are you gonna have a slumber party with me, Sakura?" Little Elycia asked with her cute voice and pouted.

Oh, how that brought me memories of Naruto—I had already missed his pout and cerulean-blue puppy dog eyes. Seeing this pout with Elycia, I couldn't refuse her offer.

"Yes, Elycia, I will." I nodded, using the language properly. I was getting used to it and was able to understand further. Tonight, I had to read the study guide that Gracia had given me.

Elycia cheered and giggled happily, grabbing my hand and dragging me upstairs.

* * *

"What is it Gracia?" Maes questioned his wife, right after Elycia and the mysterious new pink-haired guest, Sakura, went upstairs, "I noticed that you invited another cute guest to stay! Is it just me or is Central being filled with such beautiful women? And this one is a rare catch, Gracia, she would make a beautiful girlfriend for some lucky man here in Central! I mean, pink-hair, no kid—,"

Gracia placed her hand up to interrupt Maes, "Maes, I don't think this girl is around here." She spoke seriously, her eyes full of worry and glancing at the stairs were Sakura and her daughter, Elycia, had ascended up to.

Raising an eyebrow, Maes tilted his head, "What do you mean, Gracia? She fits right in! She has her own skin and facial features—just her hair of course. Probably she accidentally dyed it with something? I don't know… what made you doubt her, Gracia?"

Taking a deep breath, the wife of Maes explained, "I found her at an alleyway, sweetheart."

Now, it was Maes' turn to be serious, "What?"

Gracia had just nodded, "Yes."

"What do you mean you found her at an alleyway?" Maes crossed his arms this time. Great, another predicament and investigation to go through, "Was she hurt? Was she—you know, raped?"

"No she wasn't, Maes. Oh goodness, no." Gracia waved her arms together, sighing, "We found her, unconscious or—I think sleeping, that was what Mr. Barnes said."

"Mr. Barnes? Even the _Baker_?"

"Yes, he helped us by carrying her to the house," replied Gracia, "As I was saying, she only had a few bruises but that was it. She didn't have a concussion or anything. Oh, Maes, I didn't know what to do. A sweet, innocent girl was just lying there in an alleyway. If I wasn't there by that time, something bad would've happened to her." Gracia trembled, embracing herself and not knowing what to do.

Maes could see how his wife was terribly worried of the pink-haired girl and placed both hands on her shoulders, "Its alright, darling, you did the right thing and I am very proud of you. I am so glad I married you! Roy must be envious too!" The Lieutenant Colonel laughed, knowing that Roy was still single and in need of a wife.

"Oh, stop it Maes. You keep teasing him everyday, cut him some slack." Giggled Gracia, feeling a little better of the situation, "Now let me continue, what made this girl stand out is when she woke up—she understood… NOTHING of our language."

His eyes broadened as his wife had said this… To think things around this world could get a bit weirder.

"She didn't understand anything of our language?" He asked with a bit of disbelief. In Maes' point of view, at first glance, the pink-haired girl seemed like she looked Amestrian than anything. There was nothing to differ about her—except, of course, the pink-hair thing again. But all and all, the girl looked absolutely fine!

"Come on, Gracia, the girl looked Amestrian. She didn't have red eyes and dark-skin like an Ishbalan and she didn't have 'em shifty eyes and black hair like people from Xing. And she didn't have those wide-set jaws of people from Drachma, weird overly tanned skin from Creta, and strong big muscles from Aerugo. She looks absolutely Amestrian." Maes shook his head.

Gracia held Maes' hand to assure him that what she was saying was indeed true, "Maes, she did not understand any of our language and when she had spoken—her language sounded of what the people of Xing would say. They had their sense of accent yet hers was a bit more gentle and delicate."

Okay, this was getting weird—a girl who absolutely looked like an Amestrian, speaks of a kind of Xing Language or Dialect whatever, and was found in an alleyway. All of these things made Maes kind of have a reality check by now and the look of Gracia's face—he knew that she had cared about the girl and she wanted Maes to see anything to it.

Having a new, unofficial, family investigation, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes asked, "What was the girl's name again…?"

* * *

"Sakura Haruno." I replied to Elycia when she asked me my name again so she could write it in drawing paper.

"How spell it?" She asked in her usual cute voice again as she looked at me.

Remembering the letters of the alphabet, I immediately spelled it, "S. A. K. U. R. A."

Grabbing a pink crayon nearby, Elycia bit her lip and tried to write my name in perfect print on her paper. I knelt down and scooted over to her to examine. I can tell that Elycia was going to a beautiful and intelligent woman. Her writing seemed to adjust faster—I guess her parents had taught her conservatively.

Oh, I'm going to be very jealous of Elycia when she grows up—because for me, I wasn't both beautiful and smart, I was just smart and that's it. The only thing that I could prove people that I have brains is because I have a big forehead where my big brain is. I wish it wasn't that noticeable.

Elycia interrupted my thoughts but tapping my hand, "Sakura, your last name?"

"Right," I blinked and smiled contently at her, "Haruno. H.A.R.U.N.O."

"Okay!" Giggling, Elycia slowly wrote my last name and when she was done, she looked at me with a pout on her face again, "Now turn 'round and do not look!"

I gave her a teasing grin and nodded my head, "I will not look, Elycia." So, I stood up from my kneeling position and turned my back to her. My whole body now faced her large window and while waiting for her to do what she was going to do, I decided to open the window and put my head out and my hands together.

Placing my head on my hands, I watched the night sky of the town and examine the stars up above. They were gleaming nicely and I rarely see any stars like this in Konohagure—frankly, I rarely had time to watch them like this.

Before I was a Genin, when I was just a little girl, I used to go to the balcony in my room, sit down with a blanket under me and watch the stars. Then, I remembered, my mother would come in with her own blanket and some chocolate milk and sit with me. Yes, just the two of us and sometimes, she would tell me stories of the world beyond—and one story I remembered, was something that my father had told her.

The story of a flourished land with many magicians and sorcerers and all of their magic was from the stars and energy from the Earth. My mother had said that these magicians knew many things—some bad and some good about the world. They knew what was beyond what normal humans would know and they knew how to harness the so-called energy they have by their hands. My mother said there was a name for their practice but never told me because she had said…

That my father knew how to do it too.

I never believed her back then because I was just a little girl and I viewed things as a fairytale, fiction, and false. But now, my mind was expanding to reality and somehow, I might come to believe her about it because my father was such a mysterious man to me… I don't know what he did and why left me and my mother in Konohagure. I knew he wasn't a ninja of course, that was what my mother told me, but he was something else more powerful than a ninja.

It made me realize that—maybe the useless Haruno Family of Konohagure, might have secrets of their own and…

It all traced back to my mysterious father.

Somehow, I want to find him—whoever or wherever he was.

I kept staring at the stars until Elycia shouted with her happy voice, "Sakura, done! You may look!"

Turning around, I saw little Elycia holding up her drawing with my name on it. Walking towards her, I saw that she had drew me with someone. I couldn't tell because her drawing was stick figure like (Who can blame her? She is still a little girl and I used to draw like that, myself!).

I quirked up an eyebrow and pointed on the second figure, "Who is that, Elycia?"

"That?" Elycia blinked and looked at her drawing for a moment, "That me!"

"You?"

"Yes," She said, smiling at her pretty drawn picture, "It you and me. We holding hands. I am holding your hand because you are my sister."

My eyes had soften of what the girl had said as I carefully took the picture in my own hands delicately. I stared at it; I can tell, with the colors she had done, Elycia had worked hard on it and it was for me. I guess Elycia's going to be one of those people I'm going to remember for a long time—same thing with Gracia too. They had been so kind to me.

"Aw, Elycia, that is so sweet of you," I carefully placed the drawing down so I can embraced the sweet little girl, "Thank you, very much…"

Elycia cuddled into me and whispered, "No problem Sakura, you are best sister!"

I laughed and we let go and look each other straight in the eye for a moment and then smiled.

"Well, we must sleep now." I said, trying to pronounce the language as clear as I can. It was really hard trying to think of the connecting words and everything, "You must sleep first, Elycia, your mother said so."

"Okay, Sakura, but you stay here right?" She asked, her large innocent eyes looking at me.

I nodded, "Yes, I will."

Soon, she went to her bed as I followed her. She signaled me to tuck her in and I happily did so. Tucking small Elycia in her comfortable bed, I prompted up her pillow and then sat at the bedside, watching her as she adjusted herself in sleeping position. Her eyes didn't close yet for they were looking at me.

"Sakura," She called.

"Hm?"

"You won't leave, won't you?"

I sat there, in silence as I looked at her softly. I was speechless for a moment and my throat was frozen at the same time. How could I say the proper words correctly to such a small girl who knew I was going to leave any day now? Oh, I didn't want to hurt Elycia's heart, I loved her like a sister now and I cared about her. She is such a sweet and loving girl—and I couldn't bear to hurt her.

And I just had to tell a fib…

"Why think of that, Elycia? I am your sister," I patted her delicately on her red cheeks and kissed her on the forehead, "I will always be here when you need me."

I said those words honestly—but a small thing was a fib.

Smiling brightly, Elycia spoke, "I love you, Sakura."

I giggled silently and tickled her cheeks again, "Aishiteru, Elycia." I spoke, saying what 'I love you' means in my language.

Tilting her head, Elycia questioned, "What does that mean?"

"I love you in my words," I replied, smiling and ruffling her hair.

"How do you say it, Sakura?"

"Ai-Shi-Te-Ru."

Repeating cutely and reluctantly, Elycia said clearly, "Ai-Shi-Te-Ru. Aishiteru, Sakura!"

I laughed once again—I've never felt so connected, so belonged, and so happy at the same time. Staying her with Elycia and her family—it made me a little warmer than I would have. I felt—like this is where I could truly belong…

Wait, what was I saying? I can't belong in a graphic novel that Naruto had given me. No way.

I missed Konohagure, I missed my mom, I missed Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Hinata, Shikamaru, everyone, and even both Sasuke and Ino. I missed them dearly and I would like to get home. Why would I think of such thoughts of belonging here? Sure Elycia and everyone whom I met so far are dear and kind… I just…

I am so confused.

Elycia drifted to sleep while I sat there, thinking. I wasn't sleepy yet and I decided to approach the window again to look at the stars. I—don't know if I should even be here… I needed to go home, somehow, I just needed to…

"Oh… I don't know what to do…" I sighed.

* * *

"Sakura Haruno, huh?" Maes spoke after finding out the name of the pink-haired guest. After hearing his wife's story about the newcomer, Maes decided to sit down at the couch and rethink of the events that had led up to this, "Are you sure that's her name, Gracia?"

Gracia came in the living room again with two cups of tea—one for her and one for her husband, "Yes. There was no hint of lie in her eyes…" She sat down next to Maes and handed him the tea.

Maes took it and drank it hungrily; he did not have one drink during his hospital visit with the Elric Brothers and everything. He always loved his wife's tea—it made him a calm military man he was.

Finishing the tea in the cup, the Lieutenant Colonel of Central placed it on the coffee table and looked seriously at Gracia, "Okay, so what you say is true that this girl just appeared in the alleyway, sleeping or unconscious and she spoke kind of Xing Language at you, right?"

"Yes, Maes, how many times do I have to tell you?" Gracia sighed exasperatedly, taking a sip of her tea.

Being the family man he is, he waved his arms. He didn't want his precious wife to get angry, "Okay, okay, I believe you Gracia… but something isn't right."

"What do you mean?" Gracia blinked, "Maes, she is just a girl. She couldn't be older than twelve-years-old, perhaps. Sakura is a well mannered, polite, and sweet young girl. As far as I've been with her, she did not hurt me or even hurt Elycia at all. Elycia seems to be getting attached to her like she was with Winry."

In Maes' perspective, things didn't seem right, "Just let me explain, Gracia," He smoothen out his voice and crossed his arms again, "Laboratory Five had just collapsed, Barry the Chopper's on the loose, Scar is suddenly proclaimed dead or missing, and the Elric Brothers are critically hospitalized at this time and now, a pink-haired other worldly looking girl had just came here? Things have been getting out of hand, sweetheart, and I just want to make everything right."

"It doesn't seem like you aren't and the military too."

"Oh come on, I am," Maes insisted; he knew he was getting to his wife's bad side, "Let me say something clearly—I just don't want anyone hurt. Most of the military sector cares less and I don't want to be part of those butt-heads, I want to care for the people of this country. I am not going to hurt the girl, I'm just going to help her and find out whom she is and where she's from. I know, in the records of people, that there must be a name 'Sakura Haruno' laying somewhere… I mean, who knows? What if she was part of Laboratory Five? Where do you think the bruises on her arm come from?"

Holding her cup gently, Gracia was shaking discreetly. She didn't know how to reply to her husband at all. She was both worried about Sakura and the military's sake. She didn't know how to decide or choose. Gracia also couldn't get the words straighten out from her mouth—she was so confused… the military and maybe her husband, may have been keeping some secrets from the people of Amestris.

No, she should not doubt her husband. She loved Maes—that is why she got the position of being his wife.

Turning to him, she exhaled her tiring breath, "Alright Maes, please, just make everything right like you said."

"I'll try too Gracia my darling!" Maes did a thumbs up and stood up, "Ahh… today was such a tiring day—the Elric Brothers seemed to be getting more stubborn each and every day and I don't know what to do."

"Boys their age are always like that," Gracia giggled, getting the cups and going to the kitchen.

Stretching, Maes began to think of other things in his mind, "I can't wait for Elycia's party and everything! I'm so excited! What do you think I should get her, Gracia?"

"I don't know, you think, you are her doting father!"

"Hmm… maybe a new bike? Or a life-size doll? Oh, better yet, a life-size TEDDY BEAR!"

"Maes, don't think over board now, please." Gracia assured her husband teasingly from the kitchen.

"Okay, okay," Maes yawned, he was getting tired, "Gracia, I'm going to get a shower now and get to bed… I had a tired—," Then, his mind had interrupted him for a minute and blinked.

Hearing that her husband was silent, Gracia got a bit worried and checked, "Is there something the matter, sweetheart?"

Lieutenant Colonel Maes froze and then—started to freak as he ran around frantically, "GRACIA! I JUST REMEMBERED—WE FORGOT TO BUY SOME BALOONS!! NOO!! I HAVE TO GO GET IT TOMORROW! AND OH YEAH, VISIT THE ELRIC BROTHERS!"

* * *

_Central Hospital;_

He was tired.

He was on guard duty for the Elric Brothers.

He was the bodyguard for them in time being because of the missing terrorist, Scar.

He was Denny Brosh.

Denny Brosh was a Sergeant in the Military and he's—a pretty nice guy. He was the kind of guy that everyone wanted to be around. His aura of calmness and content always reassures his fellow soldiers when things seemed impossible and he was going to use that kind of aura for the Elric Brothers, to help them on their feet again after the incident of Laboratory Five.

Denny yawned; He wasn't cut out for guarding outside the Hospital Room. He wished he were in a bed after a nice long shower—unlike his partner, Second Lt. Maria Ross was. Yesterday was her guard duty and today was his guard duty and how he disliked it. Sitting down at the chair with a pillow behind his back, Denny sighed, his eyes drifting to sleep…

"Agh! Must… not… sleep…!!" Denny shouted, sitting up straight again. However, a few moments of resisting, he had once again, slouched over and fell asleep.

His sleep was soon interrupted when a young nurse gave him a tap on the shoulder. Denny opened his eyes and saw the nurse.

"Sir, there's a phone call for you." She told him and pointed to the nearest public phone that was open for him.

Denny nodded, "Yes…" He stood up from the chair and went towards the open phone and picked it up, "Hello?"

"_**Sergeant Brosh?"**_

"Yes, this is Sergeant Brosh, and who is this?"

"_**It's me, Maes, you dimwit!"**_

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes! Sorry sir, is there something wrong?"

"_**Oh nothing, I just wanted to check up on you and the Elric Brothers—and something else came up."**_

"What is it? Do I have the right to know, sir?"

_"**Yeah, just listen very closely…"**_

Denny listened intently to the superior officer on the phone as he held the receiver a bit tightly. He was kind of shock at what Maes was saying that he didn't know how explain it. It was some kind of important message he needed to tell the Elric Brothers after the call has been made.

"T-That's what I should tell them? But this is—completely confidential—,"

"_**Just tell them or the higher ups would get frustrated at Edward! Trust me on this, Sergeant. Oh and do not say a thing to Second Lieutenant Ross too."**_

"Right okay…"

_"**Well I'm getting a bit sleepy, I have to work tomorrow,"**_

"Alright, good night, sir," And with that, Denny hung up the phone. He had to tell the Elric Brothers soon about this news…

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Hm, is something a bit strange in this chapter? I mean—I placed in something there a bit out of place and no it wasn't an error, you just have to find it yourself but don't tell anyone! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4: An Unforgettable Birthday

**Renkinjutsu**  
**By:** Pure Sakura Haruno  
**Summary:** Naruto X-over. When Naruto lends the new, hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy! Will she ever go home? Or would she even want to?  
**Timeline:** In Naruto, after the Chuunin Exams. In Fullmetal Alchemist, manga-verse, before Hughes' was killed.

Author's Notes: Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I've been getting a lot of hits, so why not review? Please, review? I SWEAR I'LL GIVE YOU CANDY! SERIOUSLY! Any who, enjoy Chapter Four, I'm already starting to write Chapter Five, got it?

_**I AM IN NEED OF A BETA. PLEASE REVIEW HERE OR MESSAGE ME IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa / Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_**  
Chapter Four—An Unforgettable Birthday**_

* * *

___Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations!  
You want to know why?  
Because if you say 'congratulations' to someone three times.  
You're wishing them a lot of luck!_  
**—_Elycia Hughes, Fullmetal Alchemist_**

* * *

"Is this all that you have?"

"Yes," I spoke, my head looking down, "I am sorry, Gracia."

It was early morning that I came down to breakfast and Gracia Hughes had asked me the question, 'Aren't you going to change'? Then, I had to explain that these are the only clothes that I have—but I also couldn't explain to her that I was from another world and your in a hit, graphic novel! At least Gracia had understood something so well with such a vague explanation from my lips.

If I were to tell her that I was from another world and blah—you're from a book, of course she'd never believe and think I was a complete lunatic or something.

Gracia had smiled at me, "Its alright, I have some extra clothes for you."

"Y-You do?" I stuttered; I had read the study guide she had gave me last night and I was getting a little comfortable with their firm language, "You don't have to, Gracia, I'll leave and—get some myself…"

I couldn't leave! I don't know where I was! I don't know what town I'm in, what kind of money they have, what kind of clothes, and where the heck I even am for that matter! I just felt—kind of—regretful. I felt like I was using them for my personal needs and I just can't do that.

She raised an eyebrow and gave me a comforting smile, "Oh, come on, Sakura, you are the guest and I insist that I should get some clothes for you, now follow me. No buts too."

"Ah…" I didn't know what else to say but the look on Gracia's face is that she's willing to get me back on track.

Nevertheless, I nodded, "Okay."

"Good," She smiled, leading me up the stairs and to their room.

As I came in, their room was quaint and conservative. There were a few decorations and everything but all and all, it was like an average master bedroom.

I sat on the bed while Gracia approached her dresser and opened the drawers. Kneeling on the floor to get a better look, she started rummaging around to see what she can find for me. I watched her, my emerald-green eyes growing with curiosity. I hoped the clothes she could find for me where of my liking—even if it's a different style from the one in Konohagure.

"Let's see—where were those clothes," Gracia squinted her eyes until it brightened, "Ah! There it is, just your size, Sakura."

I stood up from the bed and approached Gracia to get a closer inspection on what she had gotten for me. When she took out the clothes—there was a white t-shirt with really short sleeves, a red skirt with attached shorts underneath it, and some—you know, undershirts for me.

She handed it to me, "Here. These used to be my younger sister's clothes. She used to live with us when she was schooling and when she went to college; she gave these clothes for me to keep. She said that Elycia should use them when she grows up but I think that'll be a long time for me—so I'm giving it to you."

I held the clothes tightly; a little bit unsure but then again, these were such kind people, "Thank you, Gracia."

She grinned softly, "No problem, I have more clothes for you right here." She knelt down again to her dresser and started to look through, "My younger sister left so many clothes that I don't know what to do—at least I found someone that can use them."

Later, she had given me all of these pretty clothes! I never expected the clothes would be this beautiful and when I looked at them, I absolutely adored them and I couldn't wait to try them on.

The first outfit was a red long sleeved-shirt with white stripes on the sides of the sleeves and it came with beige shorts with a brown sash tied around it. The second outfit was a pink sundress and the last outfit was a white buttoned-up blouse with a blue skirt.

"Oh, Gracia, I don't know if I should accept this… really I—,"

"Sakura," She placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me straight in the eye, "You need it. I know you do."

The look in her eyes was definitely telling me something rather important but I just didn't know how to—explain it.

I nodded obediently and took the clothes. Gracia then suggested that I'd take a shower and change into one of the outfits she had given me.

* * *

_Central Hospital;_

Maes woke up early that morning so he could get a chance to visit the Elric Brothers. He wanted to get this through, first, before preparing for Elycia's birthday party, which was going to be today and he was going to be so excited! Smiling widely, he went to the Main Desk of the Hospital and greeted the nurse.

"Hey there, Nurse Jane," Maes said, cheerily.

The Nurse looked up at him—she knew he was ready to bombard her with the many pictures he had of his adorable daughter so she decided to avoid looking at him but greeted him anyway—she didn't want to be rude.

"Good morning, Mr. Hughes, here for Edward and Alphonse Elric, right?" She questioned, writing in his name in the sign-in sheet.

"Yes and do you know what today is?!" Maes said excitedly, placing a hand on his pocket.

"Oh no…" The nurse had muttered under her breath until Maes stuck a picture of his daughter at her face.

"TODAY IS MY DAUGHTER, ELYCIA'S, BIRTHDAY!" He said with such a 'doting' voice as he kept squishing the picture right in front of the nurse's face, "Ain't she so cute?? I mean, later on, I'm gonna start buying her lots and lots of presents and…"

"Mr. Hughes, please," The nurse said, exaperately, "Just go to the Elric Brothers room. NOW."

"Okay, okay," Maes sighed as he put away the darling picture of his daughter and proceeded to go to the Elric Brother's Room.

"I just don't get why people don't appreciate my daughter's cuteness!" He crossed his arms as he walked down the hallway, "It's not like I shove the picture on their faces, sheesh! The nerve! I'll have to tell my wife about this!"

* * *

_Elric Brother's Hospital Room;_

"So, that's what Lieutenant Colonel Hughes had said, Edward," Denny Brosh explained to a silhouette figure that was sitting on the Hospital Bed, "Its very confidential—if you don't start researching and following what he had found, the higher-ups are sure to find out soon enough."

"Edward, what is this all about?" A feminine voice had spoken—quite confused on what Denny had whispered to her childhood friend. She had just come to visit him days ago to fix his automail and she had been quite curious of why he was suddenly hurt.

The silhouette that was named 'Edward' didn't respond.

The feminine voice revealed to be a long-blonde haired girl with sky-blue eyes. She was about fourteen-years-old and was holding a large bag that was on her shoulders. She was wearing a black over coat, white tank top underneath, black skirt, and matching black-running shoes. There was a name for the very pretty blonde girl—and that was Winry Rockbell.

Winry Rockbell grew up in the small countryside of Resembool, Amestris and at an early age, her parents had died while serving as doctors during a war at the time. She had been left with her grandmother, who was a famous prosthetics or automail engineer, named Pinako Rockbell. Through her years, Winry's only interest was automail and trying to best she can be—she also wanted to be a watchful friend.

Gritting her teeth beneath her mouth when she did not get an answer, Winry turned to another figure, which was sitting in the corner of the room and was a bit larger, "Alphonse? Do you know anything about this?"

Alas, the second figure did not respond to her questions.

Getting a bit frustrated at the moment, Winry shot a glare at Denny, whom she knew was the one that had told them something, "Sergeant, what did you tell them?!"

Denny frowned—his usual happy face wasn't so happy anymore, "I can't tell you that Miss Rockbell, its confidential rules."

"B-But," Winry stuttered, trembling from the fear, "What if this 'confidential thing' will get them hurt again?! Do you know how much that will…"

"I'm sorry, Miss Rockbell," Denny turned his head away from her, "I can't tell you."

Frowning deeply, the blonde girl glanced at the two silhouette figures and then shouted, "Fine! If you get hurt, don't come running to me, Edward and Alphonse!"

And with that said, she ran out of the hospital room—leaving the three alone.

(A/N: I know; Edward and Alphonse weren't properly introduced because something else is being planned for their true introduction.)

* * *

Immediately, Winry had bumped against Maes by accident. Embarrassed, she looked up at the Lieutenant Colonel and smiled sheepishly, "Hey, Mr. Hughes, I'm sorry about…"

"Winry, what happened?" Maes asked, noticing she was upset about something.

Trying to be the strong girl she was, Winry turned her head away from the Hughes, "Sorry, I don't want to talk about it…"

"Now, don't be like that." Maes placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll go see what had happened."

"I don't know if they'll tell you," replied Winry right away, her blue-eyes looking at the ground.

Maes was quite confused about this and being the military man he is, he decided to check it out and opened the door to the Elric Brother's Hospital Room to see what had happened.

"Mr. H-Hughes…!"

"Stay outside," He ordered Winry nicely—and the Rockbell could only stay put.

* * *

In the Elric Brothers hospital room, Maes noticed Denny Brosh, along with the two figures—which were obviously the Elric Brothers.

When Denny noticed Lieutenant Colonel Maes stepped in, he got a little confused. I thought he had worked today!

Something was awfully wrong—when Denny got the phone call from Maes, he had said that he was going to work. Maybe he had to get out early or…?

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," The Sergeant immediately salutes, "May I ask you a question? I thought you were supposed to be at work today. You told me that at a phone call…"

"Huh?" A confused Maes replied, "What phone call? I never said anything about it. And no, I don't have work today. I have work tomorrow!"

Shock was written across Denny's face. W-What? I don't get it! Last night, I heard his voice in the telephone, specifically telling me something and he said he'd be at work! That was weird… maybe I didn't hear him right…

Hughes (A/N: He has so many different titles that I can't seem to choose what. First its 'Maes', then there's Lieutenant Colonel, and now there's Hughes. Just bear with me.) blinked for a moment but then he shook his head, "Never mind about it then, Sergeant, I just need to talk to Edward and Alphonse."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," A voice had spoken out stubbornly.

Maes looked at the figure and raised an eyebrow, "And why is that, Edward?"

"It's our own business, Mr. Hughes," Another small voice spoken out from the corner, "We just can't say. We don't want anyone to be involved in this…"

"Alphonse, you too?" Maes questioned, scratching his black hair. He was getting quite confused and lost of what was going on. The events that had just occurred probably had whacked them out or something—and maybe Maes was getting whacked out as well.

Having nothing else to say to the two brothers, Maes looks at Denny, "Okay, what the hell happened? What is this secret they've been telling about?"

The Sergeant grew more weary and confused. Hold up! He doesn't know anything about this? But he was the one that made that phone-call last night! I knew it was him! It was his voice that I heard from the phone…

* * *

_**"It's me, Maes, you dimwit!"**_

* * *

"Sergeant?"

Denny snapped away from his thoughts and shook his head, "Huh? Oh! I apologize for the sudden silence Lieutenant Colonel Hughes…" I wonder what the hell is happening…

"Cooperate with me," Maes was obviously beginning to get a little ticked off, "What is going on here?"

"We just won't say, Lieutenant Colonel," The voice had said, his golden eyes glancing at him seriously, "Its what the higher-ups told us."

Shocked by the sudden sound of his voice, Maes trembled a small bit and then spoke hoarsely, "…Edward?"

However, he didn't respond.

Scratching his neck, Maes grinded his teeth, "Fine. If that was an order then it was an order. Just be careful, boys, and Edward, you still need to recuperate."

"…"

Smiling weakly, Maes turned his back on them and waved, "I'll be going now. You two better not cause trouble, got that? And oh yeah…!"

The three of them looked at him, curious of what he was about to say.

"… TODAY IS MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY!! YOU BETTER SEND A BIRTHDAY CARD AND—,"

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, we will."

"Well, alright," He laughed warm-heartedly; letting the tension in the room suddenly disappeared. He seemed all right with it… but inside, he really wasn't, "I'll see you three later."

And with that, he left the room.

After he had left, the golden-eyed figure spoke, "Sergeant,"

"Yes, Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward, sir?" Denny immediately saluted; Even if the person he was guarding was just younger than him—he had a higher military rank for he was a State Alchemist.

"Get my clothes," The golden-eyed figure demanded.

"But why, sir? You are still in critical condition."

"I know that—but, today, I have to go."

"But s-sir!"

"I have to. Its important—I need to ask my teacher something at Dublith."

"… And why is this?" Denny questioned.

"We're getting close to the Philosopher's Stone."

"…"

The silhouette figure sat up straight, **"We're leaving this late afternoon."**

* * *

"So, did you talk to Alphonse and Edward…?" A worried Winry Rockbell questioned as she and Maes were walking along the streets of Central. After a while, they had bought presents for Elycia and currently, Winry was holding a large teddy bear and Maes was holding a lot of beautifully wrapped presents. "Mr. Hughes…?"

"Yes?" He replied; he wasn't really paying attention because he was looking forward for the party.

"Did you talk to Alphonse and Edward?" Winry asked again, getting frustrated.

Maes' expression immediately dropped down and spoke softly, "I did."

"And what did they say about the situation they were in?" The blonde Rockbell bit her lip.

Maes shook his head for a moment, holding the presents tightly, "… They said one of the higher-ups in the military wanted to keep it a secret. They were beginning to be angered about it—I don't know why they're like this and I'm as worried as you, Winry."

Winry narrowed her eyes at the ground, "I see…"

"But," Hughes spoke and turned to her with a smile, "Don't worry about it, they're boys—they're always going through their 'serious' moments. I'm sure they'll start acting like immature kids they are…"

However, Winry didn't stop worrying about it. She was still as worried but she replied, "Alright."

"Okay, now let's go to Elycia's Birthday Party!" He said with a loud, boisterous voice as his walking pace began to increase.

"M-Mr. Hughes!" Winry sweat dropped, trying to catch up with him, while holding the large teddy bear.

Maes laughed and then turned to Winry, "Oh, when we get there, there is someone I would like you to meet."

* * *

_Hughes' Home, Central;_

"Where do the balloons go, Gracia?" I questioned, holding out some pretty balloons in my hands as Gracia turned her head to me.

"You can tie them at that window, Sakura." She smiled, pointing at the large window nearby, "Put each balloon at one corner of the window sill, can you do that?"

I nodded, "Of course." Soon, I came to the windows and carefully tied balloon one-by-one.

I had just taken a bath and placed the new outfit I was wearing. I loved it, it felt so comfortable and I can't wait to strut around it like a fierce model or something. I laughed and finished tying the balloons.

Today was Elycia's birthday and I was helping Gracia decorate around the house. I was getting excited of all the fun things that were going to happen in the party. Gracia had asked me to be the 'Party Entertainer' or the 'Party Host'. I agreed and I can't wait to show the children of what I could do.

"The balloons are tied," I called Gracia, "Is there anything else I can do?"

"No, I already got the piñata up and some of the ribbon decorations at the ceiling," responded Gracia, "Why don't you take a rest. If you want, Elycia's upstairs playing with her dolls, you can go check on her."

"I think I've checked on her too much," I giggled, "I'll just rest in the kitchen. Tell me if you need anything, Mrs. Hughes."

I was proud of myself; I managed to memorize everything in the study guide. Cha! I knew I'm that damn hell of a smart ninja.

Going into the kitchen, I was able to have time for myself. I sat down on the chair and meditate over nothing for a while. I began thinking of Konohagure and what was happening while I'm gone. My lips trembled; I was really worried of my training and my team. Most of all, I was worried about my mother, being alone in the house and wondering where the heck I was.

Mom… everyone… I couldn't help but worried. Sooner or later, I will get home and get out of this place—but somehow, I couldn't. I've met so many kind people here that its going to be a tough situation to leave them.

Argh, but I have to get home—no matter how much it's going to hurt them—and me.

Knock. Knock.

I heard someone knocked on the door and quickly; I got up from the chair and ran towards the door. Gracia would be too busy to handle opening to open the door so I did it for her. I knew Mr. Hughes—Maes—would be home by now. He didn't say where he was going and he just said he'd be back soon.

I was kind of shocked that Mr. Hughes accepted me that fast, just like Gracia and Elycia. He had this kind and comfortable aura. He was quite a family man too. Mr. Hughes even told me that I could stay for as long as I want. Is it just me or is the Hughes family this overly kind? Ah, nevermind, at least they were good people.

Opening the door, I saw Mr. Hughes' happy, wide grin and he was holding more than—5 shopping bags. They were probably Elycia's presents.

"Hey there Sakura!" He shouted, "Are the decorations up?"

"Yes, Mr. Hughes," I replied, politely—trying not to laugh at the way he looked, "Mrs. Hughes is just getting the food ready and everything."

"Really?" He quirked up an eyebrow, coming in and setting the shopping bags down, "You guys had done such a good job! Elycia would be so happy! Where is she? She'd usually greet me by now."

I pointed to the ceiling, "She's upstairs."

"Oh." Mr. Hughes just stared for a moment over nothing until he spoke up again, "Oh, Sakura! I would like you to meet someone and she's just as cute as you—well she's not as cute as Elycia."

I blinked for a moment until Mr. Hughes opened the door wider to reveal a young girl, a tad older than me. The girl had long-blonde flowing hair, a little bit darker than Ino's pale blonde color, and it was tied in a high ponytail. She also had light blue eyes and had smooth apricot colored skin. She was pretty all right that I felt my blood veins shooting up with jealousy through my body. Why does every girl I meet have to be prettier than me? I always asked that question—because it always ended up the girl I meet would be very pretty or beautiful and I knew I would have no chance against them.

I tried to make a crooked smile as the girl smiled wider. She then approached me, her wide blue eyes examining me. I shivered a little bit—I felt like I was in a small space while she came closer to me. Trying to be as polite as I can and making myself look presentable around her, I continued to smile and pretended to laugh—though it would be far from convincing. I was never a good actress.

The girl shifted herself away from me and grinned, "Hi, nice to meet you." She held her hand up for me to shake, "I'm Winry Rockbell."

Okay, she was a nice girl. I thought she'd be another Yamanaka Ino because of the blonde hair and blue eyes and how pretty she always looked but when I looked at the girl—well, Winry—she had an aura of confidence and a warming presence. Now that had indicated me that she wasn't another 'Ino'. If she were, I would've just shrugged her off and given her a cold shoulder for I can't stand another 'Ino', even if I was somewhere far from the real one.

I shook her hand contently, "I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Sakura Haruno?" Winry repeated my name; obviously she had never heard of a name like that, "Sakura… that's quite a pretty name."

Back in Konohagure, some had said that my name was 'pretty', 'beautiful', and 'oh, it suits you so much!' but others had said it was repetitive, redundant, and an over used name for everyone had the name 'Sakura'. Sakura was such a common name but here, it didn't feel like it was common anymore—and Winry had probably thought it was a cool name to begin with.

Winry's a nice name too; had a nice ring in it—I think I'm going to like Winry as a friend.

"Thank you," I smiled, "Winry is a nice name too."

"Thanks, it's not really that common." She laughed and I laughed along with her—her laugh being infectious just like Naruto.

"You guys seem to be getting along!" Mr. Hughes interrupted with his cheery voice.

Winry and I looked at each other for a moment and then giggled. Mr. Hughes laughed along with us.

"Well, the party decors seems to be in place," examined Mr. Hughes, "So let's party!!"

And the party began.

* * *

"So, where are you from, Sakura?" Winry Rockbell questioned as she and I were sitting next to each other at the front steps of the Hughes Household. It was already two hours and a half since we were partying with the little kids that the two of us decided to have some time for ourselves—just to get to know each other. I was glad that there was at least a girl, almost my age that I can relate to.

"Me?" I asked, looking at her curious blue eyes. Her eyes had resembled Naruto a bit that I started to recall memories of him. I smiled to myself and replied, "Oh, somewhere far away I guess. I don't really like to say where I live."

I couldn't tell Winry that Gracia and Elycia found me in an alleyway—I just couldn't. She would probably think I'm a lunatic or something. I also can't tell Winry that I was from Konohagure and I was a ninja. I don't think anyone around here has seen or heard of the occupation 'ninja'. This town seemed far more advanced than I had thought.

There were moving—carriages, I think, that moved on their own with wheels. Houses that are square-shaped and had triangular roofs, different from the ones in Konohagure no Sato and as a matter of fact, the way of life. It was very different from where I had lived.

"What about you? Are you from around here?" I questioned, placing my legs close to me and hugging my arms.

Winry had laughed and shook her head, "No, I don't live in big cities such as Central—I was born and raised in a vast countryside called Resembool."

"Resembool?" I felt that my eyes sparkled with interest, "Resembool? Where's that?"

"You don't know where Resembool is?" Winry rose up an eyebrow—she had a tint of curiosity and somewhat suspicion in her voice.

"W-Well," I stuttered for a moment and a mental image of my stuttering friend, Hinata, came up. I had to lay off the stuttering before she gets a bit more suspicious, "I don't really travel a lot, I was always kept at home and read things. The outside world didn't interest me as much till now." Phew, that was a good lie. I just hope Winry would come to her senses and accept that fib that I had made.

I looked at her again, her eyes calming down until I saw no expression of suspicion. Ah, that was a close one.

Then, Winry blinked for a moment until she continued, "Resembool lays all the way at the East of Amestris. It's a nice place to live, especially when you're starting a family. It has nice markets, farms, and they even have a local movie theatre there. I lived all my childhood in Resembool and I've got pretty nice memories."

"Like what?" I asked, fascination coming around the corner.

She laughed warm-heartedly, recalling all the memories she had experienced, "Well, when I was a child, I had two friends whom I considered almost like family. Their names were Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric. The two are brothers and lived very close to me."

Edward and… Alphonse Elric? Those names sounded so familiar until it clicked into my mind! The names 'Edward Elric' and 'Alphonse Elric' are the names of the main characters in the graphic novel that Naruto had given me! Which means, I was truly in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist—well to be specific, I was in the Graphic Novel itself!

Panic soon took over me when I had finally realized where I was… I was stuck in the popular comic book and I was part of the story! Why did… why did the book suck me in of all people? Why did it choose me to be part of the characters? I didn't belong here! I really didn't! I want to go back, I seriously did. I am not a graphic novel character!

I want to go home.

The whole realization of being in the book made me daze out a bit that I wasn't even paying attention to what Winry was saying of her childhood with Edward and Alphonse Elric. I was too hung up on how I got here and what was my purpose. It worried me half to death—I knew my chances of surviving here wouldn't last. Either way, Mr. Hughes, Gracia, and even Winry, is going to find out that I'm not from around here at all.

I felt a sickness appearing in my stomach that I hugged myself, shivering. Winry had noticed how I was feeling and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked at her, her lips parting but I couldn't hear her voice at all. It was as if I was going deaf or something. I closed my eyes, refusing to admit that I was in the graphic novel. I didn't want to be here—I wanted to go home, I wanted to. I just want to go home.

_**"Sakura Haruno."**_

That voice, it sounded familiar. I tried to remember where I had heard it and finally, it hit me. It was the ancient-like voice that had spoken to me before I was sucked in the book. It was that voice that pulled me into this mess. I covered my ears again—the whole reality with Winry started to distort as the voice began again.

_**"Sakura Haruno."**_

"What?!" I shouted, unable to even listen to what it has to say. I didn't want to be here… I didn't want to be here… I don't want to listen to what you have to say you freakin' voice!

_**"Hear what I have to say before your very own life would be taken away from you."**_

"I don't care! I just want to leave, I don't want to be here," I said, tears streaming down my eyes as the voice, "I never wanted to be here in the first place…"

_**"Edward Elric needs your help."**_

At the sudden words of what the voice had told me, I immediately shot my head up, my hands letting go of my ears. The tears in my eyes had immediately stopped as I decided to listen—listen to what this voice has to say. Why does Edward Elric need my help? He doesn't even know me and I only know him as the main character of the whole book! How can I help him of all people?!

"What…?" I spoke out with shock, the questions in my head were buzzing around like flies, "Why would he need my help? He doesn't even know me!"

_**"His brother, Alphonse Elric… his soul attached to this world would not last."**_

"Yeah and…? What do I have to do with all of this?" I asked again, my stubbornness was revealing itself to the voice. I know I wasn't a stubborn person but the thought and the situation of all this was driving me crazy to the point that I might even suffer with a mental breakdown.

_**"You have something inside of you that will stop them."**_

Something… inside of me…? Okay… this was getting weird. There is nothing inside of me but bloods and guts and some chakra energy flowing. Does the voice mean I was a ninja and can do ninjutsu? Or does it mean something else? I can hardly believe I have the strength to help Edward and his brother, Alphonse. I can't even start to think of the many mistakes that will cause if I were to help them because first off, there were no ninjas (I highly doubt they even exist here) and second, I was lost and don't know how to deal with the culture, and third, I barely know what goes around and what comes around.

My eyes narrowed down at the ground and spoke softly, "I can't help… I'm useless and I will always be." The words that I said were true. I was useless. Sure there were times that I shined brighter than my teammates but I was never strong enough to even defeat someone successfully. It was always either Naruto or Sasuke to save the day and I was always doing partial of the work.

Besides, I didn't have a main bloodline jutsu like the other Genins my age. For example, Sasuke had the Sharingan, Hinata and Neji had the Byakugan, and Shikamaru had the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu running in his veins. What do I have? Nothing but my large brain, which was associated with my forehead. See what I tell you, I've got nothing in my small, wimpy body. The Haruno 'Clan' of Konohagure had absolutely nothing to share…

_**"Yes you have something, Haruno Sakura, something greater—something stronger and powerful. You will learn how to harness it soon enough when the time is right."**_

When the time is right, huh? I wonder when will that be… um, let's see, 4,000 years from now? Ha, I don't think I'll last that long if I even knew how to harness—whatever I had inside of me. I was plain useless. Useless. Useless. Useless. I didn't want to listen to what the voice will have to say, I just can't.

"Okay, so what's the power I have that is strong inside of me?"

_**"All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only dose permits something not to be poisonous."**_

"Poisonous?" I had spoken out loud, wondering what the voice had meant. I knew, right off the bat that this must be a riddle that the voice has been speaking. I knew it didn't want me to find out what was truly inside of me until I look through it myself. Does that mean I'll cut myself open to find the power? Then, I had another thought in my head—does that mean this 'power' can also be poisonous? That made me shivers down my spine.

How can something poisonous could help someone? That was the question that will soon be embedded in the deep recesses of my mind.

"So, if I release this power—will it…"

_**"Yes it will take you back to where you have came."**_

"O-Okay… I'll help Edward out, I will." I said with a proud voice because now, I had discovered a way to get home and that will be helping Edward out. But other than getting home, there were other reasons that I wanted to help Edward. From what Naruto had told me about the summary a while ago—it was that Edward had sacrificed his right-arm and left-leg to get his mother back from the dead and attach his brother's soul to a suit of armor… and what's more is that…

I want to know what's beneath his golden-eyes.

There were secrets that were in those golden-eyes and somehow, I just want to grasp them. Something in him made me click something inside of me and I just don't know what…

"I'll help Edward," I said to the voice again, "I'll help him and his brother get back on their feet."

_**"Yes and Sakura…"**_

Soon, the voice was fading away that I couldn't hear what it was saying anymore. I was coming back to reality and I felt Winry shaking me back and forth, anxious and curious of what had just happened to me at that moment.

"Sakura? Sakura, are you okay?" I heard Winry's worried voice spoken out while shaking me by the shoulder, "Sakura?"

"Huh?" I blinked for a moment; finally, I'm back. I turned to Winry and sighed, "I-I'm fine, Winry…"

"Are you sure?" She asked again.

I stood up quickly; I really needed to clear my head off, "I'll be right back, I just need some time…"

"Okay…" Winry spoke, concerned of what was going on with me, "I'll be right here, okay?"

"Yeah…" I ran inside and went upstairs to the bathroom…

But somehow, in the back of my mind, I thought I heard the voice said…

_**"Sakura, you must help him secretly, without him knowing…"**_

_**"Because…"**_

_**"You and Edward are not fated to ever meet."**_

* * *

Sitting in front of the porch steps, Winry waited for her new friend, Sakura, to come back. She was concerned of Sakura as much as she was with her childhood friends, Edward and Alphonse. She was a little angered though; why do her friends keep secrets from her? What was it that was so dangerous about it? Winry was eager to know and she just wants her friends to be careful…

"Ed… Al…" She whispered, looking up at the blue sky.

Soon, Winry spotted someone approaching her.

The Rockbell girl looked up, "Second Lieutenant Ross?"

"Winry, you have to come with me." She spoke gently, "Edward and Alphonse need you."

* * *

_Later,_

"Winry, I'm back, sorry if I made you wait long!" I shouted, happily coming back to the porch to see Winry's happy face—but what I saw, was that no one was there, "Winry?"

I looked around for a moment to see if she wandering around the yard but I didn't see her. Worried, I decided to go inside and maybe ask Mr. Hughes or Mrs. Hughes, maybe they had seen her.

"Mrs. Hughes?" I called, approaching her.

"Yes, Sakura, is something the matter?" She asked, turning away from preparing the food.

"Have you seen Winry?"

Mrs. Hughes bit her lip for a moment until she seemed to have remembered something, "Oh, Winry? A friend of ours, Maria Ross, picked her up. She had said that the Elric Brothers, Winry's friends, needed to see her at the Hospital."

Bingo! This is it… a chance to finally see the Elric Brothers and help them so I could get back home.

Smiling with a bit of determination and a bit of sadness—because of the fact that I have to leave Gracia and Elycia—I asked, "Mrs. Hughes, do you know where the Hospital is?"

She gave me a strange look and then questioned, "Why do you want to go to the Hospital, Sakura?"

"…I just need to see Winry for a moment…" I lied, trying not to stutter, "She had forgotten something."

"Oh," Mrs. Hughes looked at me and somehow, when I looked back at her—the expression on her face tells me that I was going to do something else. But, nevertheless, she answered my previous question, "The Central Hospital is just about four or five blocks away; its right next to the Central Library, its pretty noticeable so you won't have any problem looking for it."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes…" I smiled weakly and the spoke again, "Thank you for everything…"

Mrs. Hughes smiled at me, "No problem Sakura… you were a great guest. I hope you find what you're looking for."

I looked up at her and blinked. I wanted to ask another question but I couldn't. Soon, before I was going to turn away from her, I felt someone hold my arm. Shocked for a moment, I looked down to see that it was…

"Elycia?" I said, confused.

Little Elycia was right there, holding my arm with a pouty-face on, "You're leaving—aren't you, Sakura?"

I frowned, I knew it was coming as I knelt down to Elycia's height and ruffled her head, "Now what did I tell you, Elycia? Didn't I tell you that I'd always be right here when you need me?"

"How will you do that? You will not be here!" She shouted, trying not to cry. Oh, I didn't want her to cry—it was her birthday and this will make it even miserable, "Sakura, no go!"

Soon, Elycia burst out crying and then, I immediately embraced her and tried to calm her down, "Now, now, its alright… what I meant was, I'll always be in your heart. I'll be right there when you need me—all you have to say is my name and then you'll be all better, now won't you?"

I let her go and Elycia sniffed, "Okay… but come back."

"I will, I promise." And then, I stood up and before I was about to get my stuff ready in a bag and go, I heard another voice.

"Leaving already?" Mr. Hughes said as I turned to him, "You remind me of someone I know—someone just like you."

"Mr. Hughes…"

"Now, Sakura, be careful," The Hughes Male had said to me, smiling, "When you meet the Elric Brothers, it will be one hell of a trip. Don't get yourself into dangerous situations, you are just a young girl."

"I won't, I promise…"

"Okay, now of you go."

I gave the Hughes Family a grin and then, I glance at Elycia:

"_Happy Birthday_."

And with that, I left.

* * *

_**"You are not to meet him, Sakura."**_

_**"You and Edward are not meant to meet."**_

_**"Ever…"**_

* * *

**A/N: In the next chapter, I'm going to change it. Sakura won't be telling the story anymore, its going to be in third-person view instead of first-person. Its kind of easier that way, to see what is going on.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Alchemist of Dublith

**Renkinjutsu**  
**By:** Pure Sakura Haruno  
**Summary:** Naruto X-over. When Naruto lends the new, hit graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist to Sakura, the book soon takes a new spin and sweeps Sakura away to a world full of Alchemy! Will she ever go home? Or would she even want to?  
**Timeline:** In Naruto, after the Chuunin Exams. In Fullmetal Alchemist, manga-verse, before Hughes' was killed.  
**Pairings:** Edward/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Roy/Riza, One-Side: Sasuke/Sakura, Al/Winry

**Author's Notes**: Holy fudge! I never seen so many reviews in one chapter before! This had just made my day to update earlier for everyone to see. I had wrote this chapter days ago and planned it out real well so I'm going to post it up for you to see. The future chapters are already finished but I plan submitting them if I get good encouragement from the reviewers, I don't know! So, for all the reviewers and readers who had favorited my story--this is your reward.

**Chapter Five of 'Renkinjutsu': FMA/Naruto Crossover.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto / Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa.

* * *

_**Chapter Five—The Alchemist of Dublith**_

* * *

_A Life is not an object and I'm not God…_  
**—Izumi Curtis, Fullmetal Alchemist Volume Five**

* * *

_Central Streets, Amestris;_

Haruno Sakura adjusted her small backpack on her shoulder, her green eyes looking directly at the road she is running on. She had just left the Hughes Residence and said good-bye to them. She knew it was hard but it was the last resort. She wanted to go home and she wanted to complete this task. Even though her first priority was to go home, she had reasons too. She wanted to help Edward and she couldn't bear to see him alone without his brother, Alphonse.

_How in the seven hells did I get myself into this mess?! And why is it me of all people? Why not choose some powerful ninja or something! _Sakura frowned at the thought as the wind brushed against her long pink bangs. She was running to the Hospital and dodging the people that came in her way. Of course she knew they were staring at her unnatural pink-hair but Sakura didn't care, she needed to get to the location.

"Come on, please get me there in time…" Sakura spoke under her breath as she stopped her pace and looked around, "I need to see Edward…"

She didn't know why his name kept popping up in her mind nor his golden-eyes. Sakura did not understand why those golden-colored eyes captivated her so much… Was it because it expressed loneliness? Sadness? Apathy? Or was there something hidden beneath it…

Burden was the exact word she could think of as Sakura began to walk around. Scratching her head, she tried to remember what Gracia had told her. She knew the exact directions but she didn't know what the hospital would look like. Getting a little frustrated, Sakura wanted to ask the nearest person that was there…

And the first person she saw was a man, maybe in his forties or late fifties, walking by. A little hesitant, Sakura approached him and tapped his arm, seeing that this male was tall.

"Excuse me…" Sakura spoke a little shyly, "I was wondering if you know where the Central Hospital is?"

When the man had turned to Sakura, Sakura had noticed that the man had an eye patch at his left eye and his appearance began to be noticeable in Sakura's perspective. The man had a blue uniform-like clothing and he had a sword attached to the belt. Shivering a little bit, Sakura tried not to stare at that sword for long. _Is this guy some kind of Samurai? _

Obviously the man had noticed her fidget when she had noticed the sword so he spoke with a kind voice and a nice smile, "Central Hospital? Why, I just came out there myself."

"Really?" Sakura's green eyes lighten up, "Would you mind telling me where the direction is, sir, please?"

"Of course, since you're such a pretty nice girl," The man with the eye patch at his eye pointed at the direction in front of him, "See that large white building with some flags in front? That's the hospital at that far corner. Run another block."

"Oh, I see…" Sakura squinted her eyes a little to get a better look. Finally, she turned back to the man and bowed in respect, "Thank you so much, sir!" And with that, she ran off.

As soon as Sakura had ran off—she didn't realize that the man she had asked for directions was the one who had complete power of Amestris and its military: Fuhrer King Bradley.

The Fuhrer watched Sakura disappear at the distance and spoke, "What a sweet girl…" He then started to walk at the other direction, "Too bad… like they say, _a cherry blossom can only bloom once._" And then, he, too, disappeared in the distance.

* * *

_Central Train Station, Amestris;_

Winry Rockbell followed the two brothers as she adjusted her bag around her shoulders. She had a frown across her face—for she didn't have time to talk to Sakura, her new friend, or even said good-bye to her. She didn't even said a decent good-bye to the Hughes. They were so kind to her. _Ugh, why do Ed and Al have to ruin this for me? _She whined inside her mind as she watched the brothers buying a train ticket.

She smiled a little, looking at a small bright side. _Well, at least Ed gave into my pleading of going to Rush Valley. _She giggled, remembering the moment before they had to go to the train station that she had begged Ed to go to Rush Valley before they head to Dublith. Winry always did a good job of persuading people—especially the stubborn Fullmetal Alchemist and his little brother.

But then, Winry was a little inquisitive about Sakura. She had never seen such a girl like her and she noticed that Sakura had a little trouble at pronouncing sentences and her accent sounded exactly like the Eastern People of Xing. But what's weird was that her face arrangement wasn't even from Xing, her face structure could fit the people of Amestris. This had left Winry very suspicious of the young Haruno.

"Hey Winry!" Someone had shouted, snapping Winry away from her thoughts, "Let's go, the train's starting!"

Looking up, Winry gasped and ran to the entrance of the train, "I'm coming, Ed! I'm sorry!"

_Something tells me that Sakura is from somewhere else…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura reached the Hospital and she was exhausted that she had to rest a bit. Sitting down the steps, she tried to regain her breath and wipe the sweat off her pink-hair. _Geez… it's so warm here, warmer than Konohagure. _Sakura thought, looking up at the bright blue sky and the blinding sun. _And the sun seems a lot bigger than I had thought, also. _Sighing, she sat there, inhaling and exhaling heavily.

Moments later, she stood up again and fixed her hair as Sakura went up the steps of the Hospital, only to see a man and woman standing there—wearing the same blue uniform. Sakura raised an eyebrow and wondered why they kept wearing blue clothing like that. Shaking her head off, Sakura proceeded her way in to the Hospital and at the front desk.

When she came inside, she saw a nurse and asked, "Excuse me, miss."

The nurse looked up from what she was doing and smiled cheerily at Sakura, "Yes? Do you need assistance?"

"No, not really," Sakura smiled and laughed a little, "I just need to know… where's Edward and Alphonse Elric's Hospital Room?"

"Um, I'm sorry, dear." The nurse frowned, "But they had just checked out minutes ago."

_Darn! _Sakura muttered something under her breath displeasingly; she thought she was finally going to meet them and instead, they were on there way again. Don't they stay in one place for long? Sakura sighed heavily as her shoulders went down, all hope was lost right now. However, something came into her mind as she turned to the nurse again.

"Miss," Sakura spoke again, "Do you know where they went by any chance?"

But with luck, the nurse had smiled, "Yes. I do."

"Really? Where?" Sakura asked immediately, her eyes brightening, "Where do you think they are?"

The nurse thought for a moment and then answered, "Well, I overheard them talking about Dublith. It's a city down at the South. You have to take a train there and it only takes you about an hour, I believe."

"Oh…" Sakura's eyes suddenly dropped down—she didn't think she'd have enough money! Sure, before she left, Gracia handed her a couple of money and explained her the currency before but she doubts that she could have enough to buy a decent train ticket, "Ah, just great… I don't have enough money…" _This is why getting sucked in a graphic novel sucks. You can't even survive at the place you're on!_

Sakura smiled sadly, "Thanks for your help, miss, but I'll get going now…" With that, Sakura spun around and then started walking back—to the Hughes Residence. They did tell her she can always come back and she was always welcome to stay. Sakura consider that her home for a while.

"W-Wait!" The nurse had shouted after Sakura.

Sakura turned around, "Yes?"

The nurse got off her counter and approached Sakura. Reaching out something from her pocket, she had a couple of money that she was going to lend Sakura, "Here, have a bit of my money if you don't have enough."

Being considerate Sakura was, she waved her hands, "Oh, no, no! You don't have to, really!"

"No, but I insist." The nurse said, placing the money on Sakura's hands, "It seems like you're really eager to look for them and I'm giving you a chance. Besides, I can earn enough as a nurse anyway!" She laughed and Sakura just smiled.

"Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" asked Sakura.

"No, no, its alright," The nurse smiled and waved, "Good luck!"

"Thank you again!" Sakura waved back and went out of the Hospital to go and look for the Elric Brothers and maybe, her new friend, Winry.

* * *

**"Thank you again!"**

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross jumped up, for her conversation with Denny Brosh had been disrupted by an unfamiliar voice. Turning around, she sees a young, pink-haired girl coming out from Central Hospital with money in her hands and a small, traveling backpack behind her. What made the young Second Lieutenant wonder about the girl is the way her face was different and especially her hair color! I mean, what kind of girl would have a pink-hair color?

"Sergeant Brosh," Her voice said straightforwardly to the male beside her, "Look at that girl."

"Huh?" Denny's face looked up to see the pink-haired girl running to the direction of where the Train Station was, "Yes? What about her?"

"Sergeant, who has pink-hair?" Maria said, crossing her arms, "I mean, be serious here."

"Oh, maybe she dyed it or something." Shrugged the Sergeant officer. He saw nothing of it—and he didn't even really cared, which was a greatest weakness for a soldier: Not being suspicious.

Maria rolled her eyes at the certain 'dumbness' in Denny's personality, "Something about her just doesn't seem right—I haven't seen her around town… maybe she's related to the Laboratory Five Incident…"

"I doubt that, Second Lieutenant," Denny rolled his eyes, "I mean when we started to question Ed and Al about who the people they saw… they didn't say anything about a pink-haired girl. Get into reality check here, a pink-haired girl would obviously be very noticeable."

For some reason, Maria had to agree at some extent of this, however, she still wanted to know where that girl was heading to and why. Suddenly, she went inside the hospital and approached the front desk where she knew that the pink-haired girl was talking to the nurse there. Approaching her, Maria gave her a serious glance and the nurse looks up.

"Yes, m'am, may I help you?" She asked, a little hesitant of why Maria was giving her that look.

"I was just wondering…" Maria began, softening her expression, "About the pink-haired girl… what did she tell you?"

The nurse knew that there was something that Maria wanted to find out and for some reason, she just couldn't lie, "Oh, she just asked about the Elric Brothers and where they were headed."

"She—what?" Maria's eyes widened at the sudden news of this.

The nurse had nodded, "Yes, she just asked where the Elric Brothers were and I told them they were heading to what I thought was Dublith… is there something wrong, m'am?"

…_A girl asking where the location of the Elric Brothers was… _Maria scratched her head. She was right, that girl had something in her sleeves. Soon, the young Second Lieutenant turned back to the nurse and smiled, "Thank you for the information." _At least the Elric Brothers aren't heading to Dublith straight so that girl won't last long by herself…_

"Um… no problem…?" The nurse shrugged and then went back to work.

After that conversation, Maria went back to Denny, who looked at her and asked, "How was it?"

"The pink-haired girl was looking for the Elric Brothers," Maria responded right away as she started to go down the steps, "I want to look deeper to this… maybe ask Lieutenant Colonel Maes at what had happened…"

Denny gulped, the sudden strictness in Maria was starting to scare him. He knew that he had to keep that secret that he told to Edward and Alphonse—and he couldn't tell Maria, he was ordered not to, "Right… I'll be right behind you."

And the duo went straight to Maes Hughes' house.

* * *

… _**Konohagure…**_

…_A Day After Haruno Sakura Disappeared…_

In the radiant place of the great ninja village, Konohagure no Sato, is where everything happens. It is where the young leaves in vibrant hues dash along their brilliantly sparkling path… a young ninja by the name of Uzumaki Naruto was on his way to pick up his close friend and teammate, Haruno Sakura.

Deep inside, he always had this secret crush on her but he also had to accept the fact that Sakura only look to him as a brother. Oh, how he wished that Sakura could accept him more than that, he could have been such a lucky man! Naruto sighed, knowing that will never happen and maybe, he'll find someone a lot more—maybe, attractive and sweet than Sakura. (A/N: Which is a certain black-haired, female beauty Hyuuga… oops, not supposed to tell you that!)

But other than that, he wanted to spend most of the moments in his life and enjoy the close friendship he had with the pink-haired Kunoichi. He didn't want their friendship to end so quickly and that was his reason to come and pick her up for early training with their sensei, Kakashi Hatake, and their quiet, loner of a teammate, Sasuke Uchiha. Ugh, a thought of his name made Naruto squirm…

_Sasuke… I don't see what Sakura likes about him! He's just a complete jerkwad is all! _Naruto thought, gritting his teeth but then, he decided to let it all go and made his way up to the front door of the Haruno household. But as soon as he went there, he noticed that there were a couple of ANBU Black-Ops surrounding the area, the fifth Hokage, Tsunade, talking seriously with Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, who was crying furiously.

Raising up an eyebrow, Naruto definitely knew something was up and decided to check it out, "Hey Grandma Tsunade! What the heck is going on?! Where's Sakura-chan?!"

At the word of 'Grandma', Tsunade immediately twitched that she had to elbow Naruto on the head, "Shut up you fool! Don't you see I'm talking to Mrs. Haruno right now?!" The female Hokage glared at the spiked-blonde ninja with her light brown eyes as she flipped her light-blonde hair behind her shoulder.

"Ouch…" Naruto muttered, rubbing his head. He had a bump there now, "Sorry…! I was just going to pick up Sakura-chan and I see more than ten ANBU Black-Ops around the place and you! Tell me, what the heck is going on?! Where is Sakura-chan?!"

"Naruto, dear," Naruto blinked, hearing a crying feminine voice as he turned to see a distressed Nadeshiko Haruno, "Sakura… is not here right now…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" questioned the slow and dense Naruto.

She tried not to cry—but the young, Haruno Mother could not stop the tears. The thought of her daughter being missing was too much to bear, "S-She's… s-she's missing…"

Soon, it was Naruto's turn to be in the shock party as his cerulean-blue eyes widened and he felt his hands shiver, "S-Sakura-c-chan… is missing? How can this be?" His eyes then glanced at Tsunade, hoping she'd know the answer, "H-How…?"

Tsunade frowned, quite disappointed of all this, "We don't exactly know. She came home last night and this morning, she wasn't in her bed—she was gone and there was no trace of who could've gotten her."

"And she didn't run away!" Nadeshiko screamed, hugging herself as the tears streamed down her emerald-green eyes, "I know Sakura… she wouldn't be the kind of person… t-to just run away like that! She loves it here, I always hear her say that! Sakura is not like that and I know this because I'm her mother and she's my daughter!" Soon, the sadness engulfed the poor Haruno mother as she collapsed in her knees and began to weep constantly.

The Hokage saw this and knelt down and embraced her, "There, there, Mrs. Haruno, will find Sakura, I'm sure of it—I don't think she had gone this far…"

Nadeshiko didn't respond and instead, she kept crying, worried for her daughter's sake and safety.

Naruto, who had been watching this, clenched his fist and grinded his teeth. He, too, didn't want to loose his teammate—and close friend. Immediately, Naruto went in the Haruno Household to investigate, not caring if Tsunade was screaming his name.

First, Naruto decided to investigate Sakura's room. It was pretty obvious she could've left there. Piercing blue eyes gaze around the room to look for anything suspicious. First he checked the drawers and when he opened one of the drawers he saw…

"AH! NOT SAKURA'S UNDERWEAR DRAWER!" The blonde had screamed and quickly slammed the drawer shut and walked away from it, his face blushing furiously. So, to take away the thoughts of Sakura's underwear, he decided to snoop around a little bit more and when he did, he could not find anything decent.

"Darn, there is NOTHING in here!" Naruto shouted, frustrated and slamming his head constantly on the wall, "Who could've took Sakura?! There's got to be something interesting in here!! Gah!" While Naruto was slamming his head on the wall till it bruised, something in the corner of his eye sparkled.

Stopping his moment of despair, Naruto turned around to where the sparkle appeared and saw the Fullmetal Alchemist Book laying on Sakura's bed. Blinking, Naruto decided to approach it and hold it in his hands, examining it. It looked like it wasn't touched at all by Sakura and he'd know that because some pages would be sticking out.

_That's weird… I could've saw something sparkle or glint… _Naruto shrugged his thoughts away and decided to skim through the manga until something dawned him about the pictures…

"What… the… hell…?"

* * *

_Central Train station, Amestris;_

"I'd like to buy some tickets for Dublith, please." Sakura asked, paying the money she had to the ticket man.

The ticket man smiled at her and gave her the ticket, "Well, you seem very lucky. The train was about to leave and you've made it just in time!"

Sakura smiled back and bowed, "Thank you." And then, she went into the train and the train's engine had started and the whistle blew.

Inside, Sakura had never seen such an elaborate and advanced train. Sure, there were only a few trains back in her place but she didn't know they could carry people to their destination. The world of the Fullmetal Alchemist had sure fascinated Sakura—it might be even better than reading the book.

Finding a nice seat by the window, Sakura took off her backpack and set it next to her. When the train had started and was on the trail, Sakura decided to watch the world pass by in her eyes until she was drifting to sleep…

* * *

_Hughes Residence, Central;_

"The pink-haired girl…?" Maes scratched his chin for a moment and then continued, "Yes, that was our guest, Sakura Haruno… she stayed at our house just yesterday."

"Sakura Haruno…?" Second Lieutenant Maria raised up an eyebrow, "Are you sure that's her name?"

Maes Hughes, Maria Ross, and Denny Brosh were all sitting at the couch together that day—Elycia's party was still going on, it was just held outside the backyard. Gracia, Maes' wife, came in with cups of tea and some cookies, to get them all relaxed and calm.

Sitting down next to her husband, Gracia spoke, "Yes, that is her name. There was no tint of lie in her eyes."

"Permission to ask, Lieutenant Colonel, but do you know where she came from…?" Sergeant Brosh asked, his aura of happiness fading and turning into a serious one. Maria also looked very serious and as strict as ever as the two soldiers eyes the Hughes couple.

Gracia knew it was going to come to this as she glanced at Maes, who was thinking very carefully of this. Gracia knew that her husband and her had that talk about Sakura and she knew Maes wasn't one of those military man to be let off that easy; she knew he was going to make things right. Oh, she hoped her husband would respond correctly with the right words. _Maes… please…_

Of course, Maes remembered the conversation he and Gracia had last night and he was willing to promise her to make everything right. He soon answered, "I'm sorry but Sakura is someone personal to us. She's part of the family and I will not discuss of this matter."

Both Maria and Denny's eyes widened; they were of lower status in the Military and they knew they could not question any further. Gracia sighed silently in relief as she narrowed her eyes to the floor, thanking Maes secretly.

Maria stood up and saluted, "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, we'll be on our way." Then, the two officers quickly left.

After a moment of silence, Maes crossed his arms and also sighed in relief, "See, Gracia? What I told you?"

"Oh Maes, I love you, very much." Gracia blushed and kissed her husband on the cheek.

Maes laughed, "I love you too, dear, but I'm not letting Sakura off the hook yet… I still need to learn more about her, secretly, and I won't let any of the military know about this."

"… You're still going to find out about her?"

"Of course! I mean, what kind of person would appear at an alleyway on an ordinary day—besides, there's also something about what the Higher-Ups have been saying and it includes the Elric Brothers…" Maes scratched behind his neck, he was having a tougher situation than he thought, "But other than that—the name 'Haruno' sounds very familiar, like I've heard of it back in the Ishbalan War…"

"That was a very pointless war," Gracia scoffed bitterly about it and stood up from the couch, "Well, I better get going. I have to check on the kids and our guests outside."

"You go do that, darling! I'll be right behind you!" chirped Maes happily but inside, he was going to start the research tomorrow…

* * *

"_**All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only dose permits something not to be poisonous…"**_

_What does that mean? Is there any significance to what is inside me? Is it saying that it can be poisonous and cannot be? What does this have to do with me?! _

"_**Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return…"**_

_Huh? There are more mambo-jumbo riddles?! What is going on? How can I ever accomplish helping Edward and his brother, Alphonse, if all I can hear are crazy riddles that can never be figured out?! You tell me._

"_**Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run, believe it!"**_

_Naruto? I can hear his voice… Naruto! Naruto! Why can't he hear me? Naruto… _

"_**I would not allow my comrades to die. That is absolute…"**_

_Kakashi-sensei? I-Is that you…? Listen to me, I'm right here! It's me, Sakura!_

"_**To follow my path, I must have power… at any price."**_

_Sasuke? You too? Don't go… please don't go… Even if you hurt me so many times—I'm still here for you. Please, can you hear me?! _

_Do you even care…?_

"_**I'm sorry, Nadeshiko, I must give our daughter as a concubine to keep all the disastrous powers that I have caused inside."**_

"_**But why? Why does it have to be our daughter?! Why does she have to be tangled in this?!"**_

"_**She is the only one capable to keep it. And one day, when the time is right—she'll over power that… **__**monster**__**… once and for all."**_

"_**But…"**_

"_**I also must leave—I can't bear you or her to get hurt in the near future…"**_

"_**NO! Don't leave—you promised you wouldn't!"**_

_Those voices—my mother… and my father? What are they talking about…?_

_Why does it… have to be me?_

The train whistled, waking up Sakura from her mysterious dreams. She jumped up a bit when she heard the train whistle scream one more time, signaling that she was already at Dublith. Sweat pouring down her face, Sakura grabbed her handkerchief and wiped it off. Soon, she stood up from her seat and grabbed her backpack.

She could still remember the faint voices from her dream and one of those voices… were her father's. Sakura did not understand why, of all people, would she hear her father's voice. Did her father had something to do with all this? She will never know until she would find something. Besides, her father left a long time ago when she was a baby and she had never heard from him ever since.

The village of Konohagure wouldn't dare talk about him and when Sakura would ask her mother why, she would simply say the word, 'Atonement', and that was it. Sakura was frustrated about this. Her mother had loved her father dearly and considered him 'a good person who had saved everyone's lives' but yet the villagers of the ninja village considered him 'a bad person and a freak'.

Even if Sakura had never met him or had seen his face, she recognized his soothing and kind voice he use to say when she was only a baby. She did not know why she could remember such a voice like that when she was a baby—maybe because her father's voice held something in there… something foreshadowing that she and her mother did not know.

"I'll find out soon enough…" Sakura muttered under her breath as she stepped off the train—to feel the hot, warm air of the sun. The pink-haired kunoichi felt the sun heating her head already, causing her to sweat easily.

"What is this?! A desert?!" complained the female ninja as she wiped her sweat, "Geez—its hotter here than Sunagakure."

But, she didn't want to be distracted by the sun's rays and instead, she decided to explore around Dublith and ask some people if they know about the Elric Brothers coming here.

Fixing the backpack around her shoulder, she had manage to get a map from the tourist welcome shop and decided to look around. She remembered what they Elric Brothers would look like and especially Winry—so it'll be a little bit easier for her… but what she had found…

"Wow! This town is huge!" Sakura shouted, noticing the bustling people with their carriages and their market places. It was truly a different world for the kunoichi and she might not even find the Elric Brothers and Winry today—it might take approximately two days in her mind. She frowned and tried to at least look around.

Sakura bit her lip and walked around. The people she had passed by gave her second glances because of her unnatural pink-hair and looks but the young ninja had gotten used to it. Sakura wished she could run like a ninja but there would be a lot of suspicion. And what Sakura had noticed about the Fullmetal Alchemist World is that—there were many people that were dressed up in a blue uniform.

This signaled her that there were commanders or the ones who are in charge of this town and she had to be careful—however, they were eyeing her.

_Agh! Please don't stare at me! _Sakura frowned and then saw the nearest person she wanted to ask about the Elric Brothers. It was an old woman at a shop.

"Um, m'am," Sakura called to her as she approached the woman.

The old woman gave her a kind smile, "Yes, dear?" She gave Sakura a strange look first (because of the pink-hair, again) and then looked back at her.

"I was wondering… have you ever heard of the Elric Brothers? They go by the name of Edward and Alphonse Elric…" Sakura asked, hoping she would find something.

The old woman thought for a moment and then her eyes brightened up, "Oh! The Elric Brothers?! I remember them when they were just little kids—they were apprentices of our famous alchemist, Izumi Curtis."

_Hell yeah! I found a source! _Sakura smiled with pride as she replied, "Izumi Curtis? Do you know where I can find her?"

"Oh yes but its going to be a long walk from here," The old woman told her, "She's in a Butcher shop across town. Its really noticeable because of the sign, however, if you want to be her apprentice, it'll take you blood and guts to be one. She's a very strict woman."

"Really? Well, here's the map, could you draw the directions for me?"

"Surely," The old woman examined the map, grabbed a pencil from her pocket and wrote the directions, "Here you go. So, other than that, would you like to buy something here?"

"Well…" Sakura observed the old woman's shop and found some rice curry. Her stomach grumbled, "How much are those rice curries?"

"One for 10 sens and Two for 20 sens." (A/N: 'Sens' are the currency of the Fullmetal Alchemist World, just letting you know.)

"I'll take 2 rice curries please and wrap them in a bag." Grinned Sakura as the old woman laughed and handed her the rice curries. Sakura paid her back, bowed and then left.

Looking at the map and the directions the old woman had written, Sakura thought it was going to be easy finding Izumi Curtis' house.

However, it was not.

It had been over one hour since Sakura had been walking around and she was getting frustrated, "Argh! Where is this Izumi Curtis' house?! Is it really long a walk and I think I'm already across town!!" The kunoichi examined the map again—but what confused her was the contours of how the map was designed—very different from the maps in Konohagure. _Ugh, this is another thing about going into a graphic novel—maps and buildings are way different from your place. Chances of surviving are less than fifty-percent._

"Hm, I guess I'll take this alleyway as a shortcut, there is a small direction here, leading to the line of what the old woman had written." Sakura spoke softly and decided to go through that alleyway to explore… not knowing there was someone that loiters around there…

Then, that 'someone' emerged from the shadows, holding a small, dirty pot in their hands.

"Spare food for a beggar, little girl?" He asked.

Sakura jumped up and slowly turned around—to see a small, creepy-looking man with a noticeably large nose, coming towards her with a bowl.

Somehow, Sakura immediately knew something was up with this guy and she didn't want to get involved, "Sorry, I don't, I'm saving my own food for something else." And with that, Sakura walked away.

"Aww, but a pretty girl like you must have one," The creepy man spoke, following her, "And you know, you shouldn't be walking around these areas—its very dangerous. You might get hurt."

"Really?" Sakura was getting pissed at the moment but decided to let it go for a while, "Well, I'll be going now…"

"But really, why don't you come with me, pretty girl and let me tell you about… NOT LURKING IN THESE AREAS!"

Suddenly, the odd-looking beggar man sprung up and was about to land towards her as Sakura quickly turned around and back flipped, nearly getting hit by that crummy beggar's feet. The beggar's hood soon came off as it revealed scaly-kind of skin around his baldhead. This made Sakura shock but disgusted for a moment that she began to run away. However, the scaly beggar got up to her.

(A/N: If you do not know what character I'm talking about—I didn't make him up. He's actually part of the Fullmetal Alchemist Series. Read Volume Six and then you'll know.)

"Now where are you going, little flower? You seem very scared!" He shouted, now running next to her, "Come here and I'll take care of you!"

"Get away from me, you creep!" Sakura stopped her pace for a moment and placed her hand inside her pocket, but then remembered something. _Crap! I don't have my kunai pouch or any weapon at the time… and I can't certainly use my jutsus! What if someone witnesses it?! I'll be dead for life!_

Quickly, she looked for a decent weapon and found a left over metal pole. Grabbing it, she rushed towards the scaly beggar and hit him across the head, spinning his head around in the process. A little bit—bothered by this, Sakura withdraw the pole and watched as the scaly beggar collapsed on ground, his head facing behind his back.

Breathing heavily, Sakura spoke in relief, "That… was a close call…"

Before she was about to drop the pole, she felt that the beggar's presence came back again and he was standing up. Sakura stopped her pace and didn't dare turn around for she heard…

"Now, now, that shouldn't be a way to treat strangers now—_**Sakura**_." The beggar had spoke in a very dark voice as Sakura turned to him, seeing the beggar turn his head all the way around to the way it was before and what's scary is that… there was no blood coming out from the scars she had placed on the beggar.

…_What… the heck… is this guy?! And why does he know my name?! _Sakura stepped back, fear had been awakened inside her. She had never seen such a guy like this and to be able to regenerate that quickly was way beyond her. She couldn't sense any presence of chakra energy flowing within the beggar but—there was something greater in this beggar.

Then, she saw something come out behind the beggar.

A crocodile-looking tale.

Her emerald-eyes widened with fear and it terrified her. Her mind was whirling and she closed her eyes. This was all too much for her but then, she had no choice, she had to use one of her Ninjutsu skills. Quickly, she did a hand-sign and shouted:

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sakura processed all her chakra in until she would get enough but somehow—here, it was different. When she was processing all her chakra out—something was acting up on her… like all her energy was being taken out and she could only create one clone than to create more than five.

_Why… am I feeling like this? _She felt tired and the clone did too, however, she had to try. _I can do this…!!_

But before she could attack, her feet suddenly felt like it was numb and was unable to move. However, the Sakura clone managed to attack the beggar and then got a punch out of him. The beggar only shifted back and smirked.

"Another pretty clone of yourself? How cute." The beggar soon shook his large crocodile-like tale and whipped the clone, causing it to poof in a cloud, "But not enough!"

"You little… dipwad!" cursed the Kunoichi, she had never cursed that much but this was ticking her off, "What do you want from me?!"

The beggar cackled as he approached the weakened Sakura, "Oh you'll see, my dear, you'll see soon enough… you are what my Master wants…" Soon, his crocodile-like tale whipped at her legs, causing the pink-haired girl to fall on her knees.

Sakura coughed, her chakra energy dropping down its rate. This had never happened before! Her chakra had never cooperated like this! She was the best chakra user back in Konohagure and now, she wasn't. What was happening to her.

Then, one of her emerald-green eyes let out a small teardrop as Sakura bowed her head down to the floor, her legs unable to move, and her body, broken at the moment. She knew she could do it; she wanted to beat the crap out of this creepy little man once and for all. But what she could not understand is why her chakra was failing on her and why her jutsu could not cooperate successfully.

_I'm loosing… _Sakura continued to cough, embracing herself from the pain.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" A loud voice loomed over as the beggar man turned around to see two shadows in the distance.

"W-What…? Who's there…?" The beggar shivered.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT A LITTLE GIRL LIKE THAT YOU DISGUSTING IMBECLE!" The shadow then approached the beggar and kicked him straight at his large nose, sending him all the way to the trashcan, "DON'T EVER COME TO THESE PARTS AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Then, the shadow clapped its hands, causing a large earthquake crack under the beggar until his head was stuck in the ground. The beggar whimpered, struggling to get out of the crack, however, it was too tight that the scaly-beggar had fainted.

Sakura had whimpered also, feeling her chest tightening, "Ugh… ouch…" She kept breathing in heavily until she looked up at the shadow that had saved her life.

The shadow soon stepped into the light, along with the other large shadow beside it. Then, it revealed to be…

A young woman with a giant man.

(**A/N:** HA! Did you think it was going to be Ed and Al? I don't think so!)

Sakura blinked, feeling the chest pain fading away as she spoke, "W-What… the…?"

"Are okay, sweetheart?" The woman knelt down next to her, her dark eyes examining her pain. The woman had dark-black hair, tied into a ponytail while the man beside her was like a giant, with strong large muscles and a goliath-stature to match. Sakura blinked again, never seeing a duo like this.

"I…" Sakura didn't know what else to say for her voice was cracking.

"Here, let me help you up," The woman grabbed Sakura's hand gently and placed it around her waist to adjust her, "Your lucky that I came just in time… these men and beggars around here are bad people, they're such a piece of trash that I want to eliminate them."

Sakura was still confused about the woman and the man with her—she was also confused at what the woman had did. A simple clap of her hands that she had managed to make an earthquake. Was that some kind of Ninjutsu? It couldn't be… for she didn't do any hand signs. _What was it…? _The pink-haired girl shook her head as the woman helped her walk.

"Sig," The woman called out to the giant man, "Do you think we have enough room for her to go in the shop? I mean, we just renovated it."

"The beds are ready but it's going to be a bit messy. Mason and I are constructed some of the ceilings and walls." Sig, the giant, had replied to the dark-haired woman.

Raising up an eyebrow, Sakura questioned, "T-Thank you for saving me… I'm sorry… I might have bothered your time or something."

"No, you didn't!" The woman said with a large, strong grin that made Sakura relax for a while, "Don't belittle yourself… at least me and my husband were passing by!"

"I see…" Sakura placed her head down. Someone had saved her—again. This was frustrating for her because someone always has to come by and defeat the enemy and save her. She was always the damsel in distress and she hated it with a burning passion, well, not as much as she hated Yamanaka Ino of course.

Then, a question popped in her head as Sakura turned to the woman, "Um… who are you?"

The woman stopped her pace for a moment and then turned to her:

"Oh, I'm just a passing housewife, and if you must know, the name's **Izumi Curtis**."

* * *

**A/N:**

**I know, I know, Sakura didn't meet the Elric Brothers yet… and the so-called 'ancient voice' had stated she can't meet Edward, sadly, but will she? You'll have to find out soon. Also, who is the 'Maes' that called Denny about something important? Many questions that are unanswered will be answered—sooner or later. Lol.**

**Many people asked to me by beta but I already chose one and messaged that person. If you do not reply, then I'll ask someone else then. Okay? I really want someone to beta this so it'll be clean and neat for other readers to see!**

**That'll be all!**

**Oh and by the way, this is Fullmetal Alchemist Manga-verse, meaning, everything was from the manga. However! I think inspiration had cracked in my head, I might put in significances of the anime-verse here too. Please keep a full watch!**

- Pure Saku  
P.S: Fans of Rekinjutsu, I'm also drawing some chapter covers. They will be soon posted in my profile so keep a watchful eye! -winks-


	6. Chapter 6: The Master and the Apprentice

**A/N: I've decided to take away the long introduction thing right here and the info of the story. I just think it takes too much space –sweat drops- so from now on, I'll be just writing my author's notes and disclaimers here. I want to thank everyone that reviewed from the previous chapter and I present to you the next!**

**It took me a while to correct this chapter and tried to make it sense—I had to watch full episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, read Fullmetal Alchemist manga and novels, watch Naruto Episodes, and even read the manga. I needed inspiration to get the plot right and to make the characters—stay in character. (Edward, to be honest, is the hardest for me to portray. Sasuke is the second character that's hardest to do)**

**But any who, please review, constructive criticism will be accepted but flames are not. Oh yeah, drawings of 'Renkinjutsu' and character designs are now found in my profile, enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter Six—The Master and the Apprentice  
**_

* * *

_  
If they're trying to take the wrong path, isn't it my job as their teacher to put them in the correct one?_  
—_**Izumi Curtis, Fullmetal Alchemist Volume Five  
**_

* * *

_Konohagure no Sato;_

"What… the… hell…?" Naruto whispered in shock, his blue eyes widening at each moment when he turns the page of the first volume. The Genin had noticed that only a couple of pages had been drawn and printed on and those pages did not associate with the original plot line of the Fullmetal Alchemist Volume One.

But what's more shocking is that—his teammate, Sakura Haruno, was part of the picture, which means, she was part of the story. Naruto panicked, unable to know what to do. He didn't know whom to turn for help. If he told Tsunade, the Hokage, she'd want to do something drastic with book, which will cause a lot of commotion and Naruto didn't want that. The commotion will last forever and everything will be a major mess.

If he told his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, he'll obviously report it to the Hokage, which will be no use so the only decision that Naruto has to make is to find how to get Sakura out on his own. Before he would be on his way, he decided to check the other volumes of the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga and noticed that all the pages were blank!

_So, its like Sakura is writing and drawing the story about what she had experienced in there… _Naruto thought, now grasping an understanding of the whole situation. But, he didn't know how she would end up in a small graphic novel. There had to be something—or maybe, someone, that had triggered the book to suck her in like that.

"And, even if I hate to do this, I'll have to research…" Naruto sighed, scratching his neck and placed all the volumes in his small backpack. He didn't want to let Tsunade, Mrs. Haruno, and then ANBU Black-Ops know that he's taking the manga books and making his own little mission about this—or he'll be dead. _And the punishment would be 'No Missions for a week!'._

Of course Naruto didn't want that—he loved going to missions and kicking some evil ninja's butt, especially Orochimaru and that Kabuto Yakushi. However, Naruto didn't want to think about that right now, he'll have to worry about them later for the only thing he's worrying about is Sakura's safety and her life and he didn't want to lose a great teammate like her.

But, Naruto didn't want to do this alone. So he'll get a few ninjas like him he can trust.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto called as soon as he saw her walking by the street.

The dark-raven-blue haired, pearly-eyed Hyuuga turned around to see the spiked-blonde male running towards her. A pale blush appeared across her face as she spoke, "N-Naruto! What is it? I-Is there s-something the m-matter?"

"Hinata-chan… its…" Naruto stopped his pace for a moment to catch his breath, "Hinata… its about Sakura-chan…"

Noticing how anxious and upset Naruto is, Hinata approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "W-What happened to Sakura-c-chan?" She asked, trying not to stutter as much for she knew, this was important and urgent.

When he was able to catch his breath, Naruto stood up straight and opened his backpack. Rummaging in through his things, he took out the Fullmetal Alchemist Volume One and handed it to her, "Open it and skim through the first 35 pages—then you'll know what's up."

Hinata took the book gently from Naruto's hand and did as she was told. When she skimmed through the first pages, she noticed something like Naruto did. The pages had Sakura in it and were totally way beyond the original plot line of the real Fullmetal Alchemist stories. Closing the book, Hinata panicked like Naruto—she had never seen something like this. Other than that, when she felt the book, there was a strong, mysterious energy force flowing through it… something that was way more advanced than Ninjutus.

Naruto had noticed this and took the book away from her, "See what I mean, Hinata? There is something about this book that pulled Sakura-chan in!"

Blinking, Hinata's eyes expressed concerned, "So what w-will happen now, Naruto-kun…? Did y-you tell Hokage Tsunade-sama about t-this?"

"No, I haven't," Naruto responded, "If I did, it will cause a major commotion and it will mess up the chances of getting Sakura back. I want to do this without being told and I want you to join me."

"M-Me?" Hinata gasped in shock. She never expected the day that Naruto would actually want her to join him in something as dangerous and as mysterious as this. On the outside, Hinata thought this was a dangerous predicament that can cause them to lose their ninja reputation but on the inside, it was dreams come true for the Hyuuga beauty. At least she could be of some use to her favorite knuckleheaded ninja.

"Yes you!" said Naruto, raising up an eyebrow and grinning, "I trust you Hinata—you work hard for the goal and you set your priorities at it. That's why I'm asking you to join, so are you willing to?"

Biting her lip for a moment, Hinata already knew her answer, "Y-Yes N-Naruto-kun, I would be willing to help!"

"Thanks so much, Hinata-chan!" Naruto then gave her a big hug and Hinata became red faced, "You are the best friend I can ever have! I trust yah, believe it!"

When Naruto let go, he noticed that Hinata was completely red. He then spoke, "Hinata-chan?"

"N-Naruto…" And then, the blushing Hinata fainted.

"Waah! Hinata-chan, are you okay?! Wake up!! Gaah! You're warm!!"

* * *

_Curtis Residence, Dublith;_

Izumi Curtis and her husband, Sig, went into their home after the odd incident with Sakura and the beggar. Sakura was still suffering minor chest pains and low chakra energy at the moment while Izumi set her on a couch and placed a blanket over her, making the shaking Kunoichi calm down from the pain. Sakura sat there, clutching the blankets tight.

Izumi watched as Sakura tried to be comfortable with her surroundings. Never, in Izumi's life, had she seen a girl with pink-hair and otherworldly face structure such as hers that she became quite suspicious. However, she decided to leave her like that for a moment and asked, "Are you okay?"

Sakura shook her head and looked up, straight into Izumi's dark eyes, "Y-Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Ms. Izumi."

"No, just call me Izumi." She grinned at her kindly. _Even her accent is quite odd… she doesn't seem to pronounce the words. Something's up with her. _The Alchemist of Dublith retreated to the kitchen for a moment, leaving Sakura by herself to get used with everything. When she went to the kitchen, she met up with her gentle giant of a husband, Sig, who was listening intently of what was happening there.

"So, what happened Izumi?" Sig questioned while leaning at the kitchen counter. Izumi scratched her dark hair as she stood next to her husband and leaned on the counter. All the events that had been happening were leading to one weird event and to the other that it was freaking her out. First it had been the events that her "fool of an apprentice" Edward Elric had become the youngest State Alchemist ever, then there's the Laboratory Five incident, and now, there's a pink-haired girl right outside her living room—that seems to incorrectly pronounce the Amestrian Language wrong and the way her face looks… it seems…

"Familiar…" Izumi whispered as Sig turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Familiar? What do you mean?" Sig questioned.

"Huh? Oh nothing…" The Dublith Alchemist smiled back at Sig and then remembered something, "Oh… I forgot to ask that girl's name yet…"

"Yeah, I was about to ask…" Sig said, "Well, while you deal with her, I'm going to check with Mason outside. He might have trouble with carrying the wood again. Be careful Izumi, I don't seem to trust her yet."

"I understand, dear." Nodded Izumi as she watched her husband stepped out of the room and outside to help their fellow friend, Mason, carry the wood. Izumi had sighed; she had a long day. First off—she had been very sickly lately and she wanted rest, especially fighting that damn beggar of a trash. Izumi had been weak but she dared not show it—she hated weakness.

"Oh boy…" She muttered to herself and stepped in the living room, where Sakura was gazing out of nowhere.

The pink-haired kunoichi was in deep thought; she was recalling the events of what had happened between her and the beggar. She remembered the beggar saying her name and saying that _his master wanted her. _This made Sakura shiver down her spine as she clutched the blanket tightly. It took her a moment to realize that Izumi was in the room, sitting on the other couch across from her, wondering what was going through her mind.

"Let me ask you again," The dark-haired woman spoke to Sakura, "Are you alright…?"

Sakura snapped away from her thoughts and then turned to face the great Alchemist and gulped, "I guess… I wouldn't say I'm all right but all and all…"

"You're not fine," Izumi dismissed of what she was about to say, "You were coughing and wheezing when we got here. What did that beggar do to you?"

"Um…"

"Wait," Izumi placed her hand up and Sakura did the notorious anime 'sweat drop' behind her head, "Before I shoot out the questions—what's your name?"

_Crap… here it goes. I guess I'll have to face confrontation sooner or later… _Sakura thought miserably. The old woman was right, she was a very strict woman and the only person she could compare her with was the fifth Hokage, Tsunade. However, if Sakura had dealt with Tsunade, then its possible she could make it through the female Curtis.

"…Sakura…" gulped the pink-haired Haruno, "…Sakura Haruno…"

_Sakura… Haruno… _Izumi repeated Sakura's name in her mind, _It sounds vaguely familiar… 'Haruno'. _It didn't make sense to Izumi that a name 'Sakura' would exist—but it was probably like a 'Xing' descent kind of name, just like hers. But the last name… Haruno… sounded like it didn't belong to anything at all; yet, it felt like Izumi had known that name for a long time.

Noticing that Izumi was quite silent, Sakura stuttered, "I-Izumi…?"

"Huh?" Like Sakura before, Izumi woke up from her thoughts to face the young Genin, "Oh… sorry… deep in thought. So, your name's Sakura?"

"Yes…"

"Time to shoot the questions." Declared Izumi as Sakura trembled slightly, hoping it wouldn't be of her purpose or how she got here in the first place, "And when you answer—answer it honestly, understand? Honesty maybe hard but it's the right thing to do."

_I know—but there are some things that you should not know… _Sakura thought bitterly, narrowing her eyes down at the ground, "I understand."

Looking at her emerald-green eyes closely, Izumi could tell that there are some things that Sakura was hiding—some things she couldn't know herself. But the alchemist did not want to take any chances, she wanted to know why she was different, why she had a different accent, and where she came from. From the events that had taken, Izumi just couldn't trust someone at the moment, especially someone who made such a good impression on her. She just didn't have the ability at the moment.

Crossing her arms and leaning back at the chair, Izumi began, "Sakura, where are you from?"

Biting her lip, Sakura had to think fast. She couldn't say she was from Konohagure, a village of Ninjas in the Fire Country and tell her that you are in a book and you didn't exist. "I'm from Central."

"Really? Whom do you live with?"

"The Hughes. They are a family that lives there. The mother is Gracia Hughes, the father is Maes Hughes, and their daughter is Elycia Hughes."

"How are you connected to them?"

"I'm their—," Sakura stopped for a moment, rethinking of how to slip out of this situation until she looked up bravely, her hands clenching, "I'm their adopted daughter." _I'm going to regret this… sooner or later…_

"Oh? I see…" Izumi's eyes arched in together—she didn't know if Sakura was telling the truth. She tried to look through her eyes but she had seen nothing but determination expressed inside of them. _Just like Edward's eyes… _Izumi smiled to herself at the thought of her apprentice, Edward Elric and his brother, Alphonse Elric. She remembered when she had first met the two of them and the two were willing to learn alchemy from her—become her apprentice. She remembered their eyes—the eyes that came from the ashes of the Phoenix, she had once called it.

"So why did you come here? Is there any purpose that of all places—you'd be here a Dublith?" She asked, wondering if it was to find the Elric Brothers—or even to be the first girl to had ever asked for her apprenticeship. If she were to ask, Izumi would be somehow glad to. She wanted to see if a girl would last one month in that island at Kauroy Lake. "Well?"

_I can't tell her that I'm searching for the Elric Brothers… _Shaking her head slightly and quickly, Sakura replied, trying not to crack her voice at the same time, "I-I… well, Maes, my father, told me that you served good meat and he wants me to buy some for a birthday party he's holding for my little sister, Elycia." _Please take it as the truth… Please take it as the truth…_

Raising an eyebrow, that was another reply that Izumi did not know to believe or not—however, she had something in mind.

"Okay then," She stood up from the couch, her arms still crossed as she spoke, "You want the meat? You've got to work for it."

Sakura's hope of getting out of here soon fell down, "W-What…?"

"Yes, **work**. In exchange, I'll give you the proper meat you want." Izumi did not know why she had said that but the look in Sakura's emerald eyes made her do so. The determination and the fearless expression were just too much for her to say. She was also, somehow, feeling a strong energy from Sakura—the same energy that was of an alchemist—yet stronger. It made her wonder if this girl… could do work without transmuting a thing. "Deal?"

_This woman—Izumi, is freaking me out… I have to do work? Wow… _Sakura thought miserably as she stood up and nodded, "Where do I start?"

Raising an eyebrow, Izumi smiled—quite evilly, "You are to go to that empty room and mop the floors and scrub the windows there, got it?"

Sakura took a peak at the room and noticed how gigantic it was. She knew she was going to have a long day.

Seeing Sakura's face made Izumi laugh for a moment, "Here's your mop and cloths." The female alchemist quickly grabbed the mop and cloths and at the same time, threw them with a fast pace.

Naturally being a ninja, it was Sakura's duty to catch things with a fast velocity. So, she turned around and with strong reflexes, she caught the mop and cloths with her own hands. "Thank you…" And with that, Sakura proceeded her way into the room and started to clean.

Izumi's dark eyes had seen the speedy reflexes of the young Kunoichi (though she did not know about that yet) and started to wonder… could she handle something tough? Smiling to herself again, Izumi had another idea in her mind. _Sakura… she is… an interesting girl. Maybe I should take her under my wing and show her what true discipline is. _

Izumi decided, without Sakura's consent, to make her an _apprentice_.

* * *

_Hughes' Residence;_

"You're going to work now?" Gracia questions her husband while feeding Elycia her dinner, "But I thought you had a day-off till the day after tomorrow?"

"I can't," Maes said in a stern voice as he grabbed his military jacket and placed it on him, "There had been some things that are bothering me—something in the military, the news, and the events that had taken."

"Like what kind of 'something' in the military?"

"I don't know," Maes sighed, "I just really need to get back on track and besides, I'm not letting Sakura off the hook yet remember?"

Gracia giggled and then stared at him, "Oh Maes, whatever's happening with Sakura now… she's safe."

"I hope so, that girl's been kind," Maes smiled at the thought of the pink-haired girl, "She has this aura of protection—something that I felt during the front line of war."

"Yes…" Gracia spoke, her eyes narrowing down at the floor, "Come home tomorrow, Maes."

"Huh?" The Lieutenant Colonel looked at his wife, who had a worried face on, like she knows just what will happen, "I will, Gracia."

"I love you."

He opened the door and then he turned to her, flashing her one of his handsome smiles, "**I love you too**."

* * *

_Curtis Residence, Dublith;_

_I really don't want to do this at all. _Sakura muttered to herself while dipping the cloth into the soap-liquid filled bucket and started to scrub the windowsill. It seemed like it was taking an eternity for her to clean everything up and she didn't even mop the floors completely and scrubbed the walls. Sakura twitched; she wishes to use her 'Wind Jutsu' to just wash everything up for her or something like that.

_But I can't bear to do it. _The cherry-blossom haired Kunoichi frowned. She knew she couldn't use ninjutsu in the Fullmetal Alchemist World because the guys with the blue uniform would easily kill her and she knew she couldn't afford to die yet. She had a goal set in her mind and that was getting back home to her friends and mother in Konohagure and helping Edward find a proper way to keep his soul of a brother back into this world.

Now that she had thought of it, the events that had taken place, it seemed like the people of Fullmetal Alchemist are helping her meet Edward for some reason. First, when she landed out of nowhere in the graphic novel, she had met the Hughes, who were someone connected with the Elric Brothers. Then, there was a blonde-haired beauty Winry Rockbell, who was a childhood friend of Edward and Alphonse. Soon, there was the nurse, who, from out of the kindness of her heart, gave Sakura the money to travel here to Dublith. The old woman also helped and now she had met Izumi Curtis…

…Who is the master of Edward and Alphonse Elric in alchemy…

She had heard that the Elric Brothers were apprenticed under Izumi, doing the many hard things that she had bestowed upon them. Sakura could agree that Izumi was indeed a very strict woman by the look in her eyes. Yet, there was something in there—a source of sadness that was veiled into them. What was it called? Oh, the motherly sadness. Sakura had immediately saw it when she was talking to her and asking questions. It made Sakura wonder.

"I wonder what gad happened…" whispered Sakura as she had finished cleaning up the window glass and the windowsills. She proceeded to get with the mop again and continue to clean the floor rigorously, "I'm almost finished…"

Meanwhile, with Izumi, she watched Sakura from the doorway. Sakura was quite oblivious that the Elric Brothers' teacher was there, watching her intently and examining her every move. She could not understand why she was drawn to Sakura. It wasn't that she made a first impression, but, the source of energy that was concealed within her—energy more powerful than alchemy.

Crossing her arms, Izumi kept watching her and soon, something in her insides retracted, causing her to cough up blood, "Ugh…" Izumi covered her mouth, not letting the blood drip down the floor. She didn't want to make a mess again.

Sakura had heard someone cough harshly behind her as she turned around to see a kneeling Izumi with her hands on her mouth and a significance of blood coming out.

The Kunoichi shouts in panic, "Izumi!"

Approaching her and kneeling down next to her, Sakura placed a hand in her pocket and took out a handkerchief. She gently handed it to the distressed woman as Izumi reluctantly took it and coughed in there instead.

Frowning, Sakura wondered what made the dark-haired woman cough blood like that. She didn't look like the kind of person that would cough like that. She expected Izumi to be tough and strong and with no weaknesses. Sakura watched as Izumi continued coughing, the gallons of blood never stopping.

It made her wonder where it was being triggered and when she touched a part in Izumi's stomach, Sakura realized there was something missing there for it felt empty and desolated. _Her insides… _Sakura had an awkward feeling when she had touched it there, like, it was removed somehow.

As Izumi stopped coughing, she noticed Sakura's hand was at her stomach part that she quickly pushed her hand away and stood up. Sakura flinched at the sudden movement by the coughing Izumi as she looked up at her, confused.

Shoving the handkerchief that Sakura had given her in her own pockets, Izumi spoke with a weak voice, "I'm sorry… this happens all the time."

"Eh?" _What do you mean 'this happens all the time'?_

Izumi could see in Sakura's emerald-green eyes that she was thinking of how she was coughing like that and Izumi merely dismissed it, "Its nothing, Sakura, nothing. Is the work done?"

"Huh? Oh!" Sakura wasn't that naïve anymore, she knew Izumi was changing the subject, "Its finished. I had finished scrubbing the floors, the walls, and the windowsill."

"Good. Now you rearrange the plates in the proper shelves?"

"What?"

"If you want the **meat**, you have to do the _work_." And with that, Izumi stepped away from Sakura and pointed to the cluttered plates on the kitchen counter. They were all clean. They were just not in the proper shelves.

_Great… more work… this is what I get when I tell a fib. _Sakura thought and stretched her arms.

"And when you're done," Izumi said, her eyes changing into a warmer expression when she turned to Sakura, "I'm going to cook dinner afterwards, would you mind helping me? And I got your room ready upstairs."

Sakura stared at her, noticing that motherly expression on her face—it reminded Sakura of her own mother back at home. Now that she had thought about it, she wondered if her mother was all right back in Konohagure. She didn't want her mother being all alone by herself and she hoped that by the time she sees her mother Nadeshiko, she would be fine. _Mom, I'll be coming home soon, I promise._

"Yeah, I'd love to help you cook," smiled Sakura, trying to hide the sadness that lingered inside of her.

When Sakura had smiled, Izumi could only smile back and tell her to carry on with the work. While she had left Sakura alone to herself, Izumi sighed—a tear slipping down her eyes.

"_If only I didn't make the greatest mistake of them all, Truth."_

* * *

"We have to start at the library first, Hinata-chan," Naruto stated, clutching the graphic novel in his arms, "Even if I hate reading, this'll be an option, just for Sakura-chan."

The Hyuuga girl stared back at the Uzumaki, knowing that he was worried of his own teammate. She was worried as well about Sakura, "Y-Yes… we have to find out more…"

The two Genin figured out another thing that was odd about the book and when they looked at the cover, they had noticed that the book had no author name or had a copyright date. All it ever included was the cover art and the title that was placed upon it. It didn't show the Publication Company either. This had made both Naruto and Hinata have theories about the book.

"N-Naruto, how are we supposed to know something about the book…?" Hinata said in a worried voice as she and Naruto proceeded to enter the library, "I-I mean it's just a graphic novel."

"**Just** a _graphic novel_?!" Naruto shouted, gritting his teeth, "This… graphic novel… sucked Sakura in. Its no ordinary comic book, there's something triggered in there!"

Hinata trembled. She had never seen Naruto this angered before that she placed her hands together and positioned her head down, "I'm s-sorry… Naruto-kun…"

"Hinata?" Naruto turned to her, noticing that he had made her upset, "Ah! Hinata-chan, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell… I'm sorry…"

"Its alright, N-Naruto," Hinata looked up at him and then tried to smile, "… You are w-worried of Sakura r-right? You have every right to be upset."

He saw the look in her pearly-white eyes and it made him realize something… something that was inside him all along… was it faith? Naruto didn't know as he simply smiled at her and the two of them completely entered the library. As they went inside, they approached the counter of where the librarian is as Naruto asked, "Excuse me,"

The old librarian woman looked up from her desk and then spoke, "Yes, dear?"

"I was wondering… do you have any books about alchemy?"

"Alchemy?" The old woman's eyes had widened for a moment before continuing, "Um, all the scientific books are over at the science section, which is over at that shelf in that corner."

"Thanks." Naruto nodded and grabbed Hinata's hand, dragging her to the shelf.

"N-Naruto, why would you want to ask some books about alchemy?" The Hyuuga questioned as Naruto stopped his pace when they had reached the scientific bookshelf.

"I made a theory," Naruto said, placing his fingertips at one of the books he had found, "You know how—well, this is kind of an over drastic theory but you won't laugh or think its useless right?"

"I won't. I promise, this is I-important."

"Okay…" The spiked-blonde boy twitched for a moment and tried to find the right words, "You know… that one chapter in Fullmetal Alchemist right…? In volume three…?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"You know the event that had taken in Laboratory Five—with the whole 'Human Transmutation' Human Life thing right? There was a transmutation circle there and what they had written in the comic book, that, not only is that transmutation circle for Human Transmutation but its for revealing the Gate and maybe, that's the one that had triggered the book or something—that pulled Sakura in."

"B-But Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered; to some extent, she didn't agree with Naruto's explanation, "Alchemy like that doesn't e-exist here. I-Isn't Fullmetal Alchemist just f-fiction? I-I mean, a-alchemy… didn't last long with us… I-it was just changing t-things to gold."

"I know that!" The blonde didn't seem to comprehend; alchemy was drawing him to something, "There's this wave of energy in the book, something totally unrelated to chakra energy that he'd usually sense, "There's something more than that; there's a code written in this book and I want to know more about it. I just want Sakura-chan back…"

Smiling softly, Hinata sat next to Naruto and started to look at the books, "Y-You know N-Naruto-kun… you're just like E-Edward Elric. Y-You always come up with t-theories and p-plans for everything. You devote yourself to the people you care for that a-are endanger…?"

"Really? I do?!" Naruto smiled widely; this had been the first time he was compared to Edward Elric, his role model, "Yeah… I guess… just reading the book made me realize that there are some things in life you have to sacrifice for. One life—is equal to another thousand people's lives. That's what it was said in the book. I look up to Ed, he never seems to give up on anything, especially the burdens that he and his brother had in the past… it makes me think, what would happen if…"

"If what Naruto-kun?"

"Nothing, Hinata-chan, believe it, we'll get Sakura back. I'm sure," The Uzumaki Male grabbed a book from the bookshelf that was titled: 'Alchemy'. When he starts to flip through, he sees that most of the alchemy was just transferring things to gold. _This is getting useless… _Naruto kept flipping the pages till something had caught his eye in one of the diagrams.

"No way…"

"What did you find?" Hinata questioned.

Before she would even take a peak, Naruto shut the book and placed it in his pocket as he headed towards the counter of the librarian, "Hey lady!"

The librarian twitched at Naruto's boisterous noise, especially when Naruto had called him a 'lady', "Yes…?"

"I want to go to the old files room."

The librarian raised an eyebrow, "Why would you want to? All Genin, Chuunin, and even Jounin Ninjas are not allowed to access that room. Only ANBU and the Hokage."

"B-But it's important, m'am…" Hinata pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you in there."

"… Damn…" Naruto muttered; he had found something in that book and he needed to old files right now. "I don't care, I'm going to go in there. There is something I need."

He grabbed Hinata's arm (again) and practically dragged her to the old files room, ignoring the librarian, who was screaming for his name.

**(A/N: Does Naruto seem out-of-character? Well, I'm making him a little bit mature but he's still going to be the same, wild Naruto.)**

* * *

_Court Martial Investigations Division, Central;_

"Good evening Lieutenant Colonel Hughes,"

"Good evening, Sheska, did you get the books that we needed?" Maes asked, placing his coat in the closet before fully entering the office.

The chestnut-brown haired woman nodded her head, "Yupp!! Took me all week!"

"Did you summarize them fully?"

Sheska blinked and then had despair written all over her face, "Do I have to…?"

"Of course you do!!" Maes shouted cheerily as he patted her hard on the back, "You are the best one here in the division. You have the best photogenic memory so I'm sure you do well now you better get your work done or there's going to be more overtime for you!"

Sheska's head fell on the desk as she had hear moment of darkness. "Oh man…"

Maes chuckled and decided to check on the papers he had left on his desk before he had that day off. He still had priorities in mind and he continued to research about it. _Ishbalan Civil War… Laboratory Five… Riots in Lior… Philosopher's Stone…_

_Sakura Haruno… _It all just felt weird, like all of them were connected to one thing after the other. Maes did not comprehend with anything at all, especially in the situation where he has to find out who Sakura Haruno is. Could a name like hers actually exists? Could it? There were so many things that the Lieutenant Colonel needed to know.

"Sheska…" Maes called, "Is there anything new… that you've heard?"

"Yes, sir, there had been a couple of news—especially from the Riots at Lior." Sheska spoke, looking at the newspaper she had just gotten and handing it to Maes, "Apparently, there was some kind of cult in the area. They were exposed as frauds and the people turned against them. I hear everything's under control now."

"Huh, you're right…" Maes started to skim through the article about the whole riot thing. It had been said that the priest there, named Cornello, had been a fraud and a fake and the real one had been gone a long time ago. The people there were debating and some had died during rebellious actions.

"Aw man… look at the death toll…" Maes commented, "The east area's been full of trouble lately with Ishbalans and everywhere else. They're all riots, most of them."

"Oh and by the way, what happened to the list of people you were researching about Laboratory Five?" questioned Sheska.

"Some of them are dead and some of their locations of where they went are unknown…"

Sheska hesitated for a moment and then spoke again, "I don't understand, sir, why were the Elric Brothers are at Laboratory Five…? What occurred there really…?"

As soon as Sheska had asked the question, Maes stopped dead in his tracks, noticing something in the newspaper and something that was lingering in his mind all along. There was something truly there—a correlation to all of the events that had taken place and Maes was getting close.

Philosopher's Stone…

Maes immediately stood up from his chair, taking the newspaper and a few books with him. He had found something—something so large that he needed to tell the military as soon as he can, "Sheska, I'm going to the records room. There are some files I would want to check over. Please, take all the other books and set them back in their appropriate bookshelves and look over them."

"Yes… sir?" Sheska was confused, she didn't know what's going to happen.

And before Maes was about to leave, he turned to Sheska again, "And after you're done—go to the South. There's a job open there for you, go there now!"

"B-But sir,"

"Sheska, trust me." Maes grinned at her and left the room, leaving a very confused and befuddled Sheska.

Meanwhile, Maes was getting close to something as he found the records room and proceeded his way in. Holding the newspaper in one hand and the book at the other, he set it down on a table and started rummaging through the records. Folder by folder, book by book, he found three of them that caught his eye. Fingertips placed upon the rims of the books, he took it out and set it upon the table where the others are.

Opening all of them, he found some comparisons in all the written notes, "The Ishbalan War… the Riots in Lior… and—hey, hey, what do we have here? Who the hell would think up something like this…"

He stopped, dead in tracks for a moment, as all of these things were connected into two significant things. One of which was a legend that the Elric Brothers had been chasing: The Philosopher's Stone and the other, leading to something that Maes had never expected. The one thing he could never agree…

"This… is… madness…" Maes whispered, immediately shocked by this, "Who the hell would… how could this…?!"

_The Ishbalans… people and the frauds of Lior… Laboratory Five… what could have… and no, not… _Maes didn't bear to say the name of what he had found as he closed the books right away and decided to go through the other bookshelves. "That's impossible—the relation… this is beyond everything…"

While he was looking through the books, he was oblivious to the person that had come in the room. The shadow that had came in touched the ridge of the door, making it creak and soon, the shadow slammed the door, signaling Maes to wake up and look who's there.

At the loud slam of the door, Maes dropped the notebooks and the books he was gathering and turned around to see the shadow that had revealed itself to be a voluptuous and curved woman with long, flowing black-hair. The woman was also wearing a tight dress with long gloves concealing her slender arms. She was very beautiful but deadly at the same time—her light purple eyes told him so.

She smiled at him, evil was written all over her face, "Pleased to meet you… or should I say, good-bye."

Maes' heart skipped a beat as panic was overwhelming him by the minute. Looking closely at the dark-colored dressed woman, he noticed something at her upper chest: The Ouroborus Tattoo.

The one tattoo that was described in the incident of Laboratory Five.

"… That's a nice tattoo…" Maes said, sweat pouring down his face.

The woman ignored his so-called comment as she extended her fingers right at him, "I'm afraid you know too much, Lt. Colonel Hughes."

Her fingers soared towards Maes as Maes took out his knife and shot it right her—and at the same, the nails had impaled his shoulder, causing the blood to splatter out. The knife he had thrown hit the woman straight at the forehead, causing her to collapse on the floor. Recklessly, Maes knew he had to get out and kicked the door open, limping his way down the hallway.

"Damn it!!"

Meanwhile, the darkly dressed woman was in the records room, the knife embedded at her forehead. Blood dripped down from it as the woman flinched, moving her beautiful sculpted fingers to take off the knife. It didn't seem that it had hurt her and instead she spoke, pretending to sigh, "… 'Damn it'… you took the words right out of my mouth."

As she fully took off the knife, she dropped it against the floor and stood up, smirking, "I thought you were the deskwork type… but it seems that arm of yours is good for more than pushing paper, Maes Hughes."

With Maes, he limped all the way outside, trying to look for the payphone. Finally, when he had found the payphone, he tried all his strength to run and go in there. The reason why Maes did not use a telephone inside the headquarters was because he could not trust anyone tapping in his call of what he was about to say. Maes decided it was the right time to call someone he can trust and that person is—Roy Mustang.

Dialing the number, Maes was getting impatient for he was in a dangerous situation, "Come on, and hurry up! damn it!"

Finally, someone took the call, "_Hello, East City Headquarters_."

Maes literally screamed through the phone, "Get me Roy… I mean, Colonel Mustang!!"

"I'm sorry, but we have a policy of not connecting calls from an outside line—,"

"I'm using an outside line because it's an emergency!! This is Lieutenant Colonel Hughes from Central!!"

"May I have the code please?"

"What the fuck?! Are you serious!! Uncle-Sugar-Oliver-Eight-Zero-Zero!!"

"_I've verified the code, one moment please."_

"Hurry up!! THE MILITARY'S IN GRAVE DANGER!"

While Maes was waiting anxiously, sweat pouring down his face, he did notice that figure came up to him until it said, "**Please hang up the phone, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes**."

Eyes widening, Maes recognized the voice and slowly turned around to face a dark, brown haired woman wearing a military outfit like his.

"The phone… Hang it up… _**Now**_."

"Second Lieutenant… Ross?" Maes gasped slightly but then, taking a good look at her, he had noticed something out-of-place that Maes smirked bitterly, "No… you're not her…"

"**Who are you**?" He questioned; he had a knife ready to take out.

Maria could answer straightforwardly, without even flinching, "I'm Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. I've met you at the hospital many times and was—,"

"No you're not." Maes interrupted her, teeth gritting beneath his mouth, "**Second Lieutenant Ross has a mole under her left eye**!!"

'Maria' stared at him for a moment but nevertheless, 'Maria' had smirked and placed a finger under her left eye and quickly, the empty skin underneath it regenerated to a mole…

"Oh, is that so? How forgetful of me?" 'Maria' grinned psychopathically, the mole now embedded under her left eye, "Is that better…?"

At the sudden sight, Maes gasped, fear taking over him, "Wha… What the hell is going on?! Damn it! This has got to be a dream…"

"A dream, hm? This is about to become your worst nightmare." 'Maria' smiled at him in such a distorted way, "Your quick wits have gotten you into a lot of trouble this time, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."

"Hey, hey, give me a break." Maes inconspicuously released the knife underneath his sleeve, "I've got a wife and kid waiting for me at home, two brothers that need my assistance, a friend that I need to help climb to the top… and a beautiful pink-haired girl that I need to concern for and…"

With quick and hasted force, Maes took out the knife and was ready to stab the Maria Ross impersonator, "**I CAN'T AFFORD TO DIE YET!"**

Before he was even about to strike, 'Maria' had regenerated into another form—the form which took the shape of Gracia Hughes. Immediately, Maes had stopped at his tracks. Now, 'Gracia' had the gun ready to strike at Maes…

'Gracia' smiled at him in a twisted way and spoke softly, "You wouldn't stab your own **wife**, would you?"

The fear had taken over Maes that he was numb and could not move—all of his insides were ripped apart inside and his soul was broken now. He didn't know what to do and at that moment, he had felt completely hopeless. He knew it was time for him to go… time for him to leave this world, his family, and his friends. He knew many things and now they were going to be left untold… _I have done my will… its time for me to go…_

Soon, 'Gracia' had her fingertip at the gun and smirked, "Pretty good acting, huh… Lieutenant Colonel Hughes…"

It was the end.

_Gracia… Elycia… Roy… Edward… Alphonse… Winry… Sheska… Armstrong…_

_Sakura…_

_**(1)"Although Alchemy has now fallen into contempt…  
It can not be considered a thing of the past and the alchemist should be influenced by such judgment."**_

_**(2)"So let the alchemist send out an angel…  
For an angel knows no philosophy…  
But love."**_

The voices that Maes heard in his head—it signaled him about something and before the gun had been triggered, his last words had said:

"_Let the angels have no pity on you._

Then, the bullet grazed through him.

Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes: Died in Action.

* * *

"_Sir, there's a call for you on an outside line from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."_

"Hughes again? Put him through…"

"…"

"It's me, Roy. I don't want to hear any more about your family."

"…"

"Hughes?"

"Hughes… hey!"

"**HUGHES!"**

* * *

"_**So let the alchemist send out an angel…**_

_**For an angel knows no philosophy…**_

_**But love."**_

The birds had chirped contently that morning as Sakura woke up from her comfortable bed in the Dublith Household. Yawning loudly and rubbing her eyes, Sakura didn't remember much of what had happened yesterday, for all she did was practically worked of Izumi Curtis and everything that her mind wasn't really paying attention at the time. Sitting up from her bed, Sakura stretched her arms a little and looked at the window, which was emanating some sunlight.

_The sun… I wonder how Gracia, Elycia, and Mr. Hughes are… _The pink-haired kunoichi wondered as she sighed. Just thinking about them made her a little worried, like something inside of her made her tense—that something bad had just happened. However, Sakura didn't have time to worry, for she heard Izumi's voice from downstairs, screaming for her to dress up, take a bath, and get down in a jippy.

_Ugh, how much work do I have to do to just get the 'meat'… _Of course Sakura had told a fib or lie to get her out of harm's way from the strict and disciplined Izumi Curtis and her punishment was work. So, yelling out a 'yes' to Izumi, Sakura proceeded to get her things and took a quick bath.

Later, Sakura went down the stairs, wearing one of the outfits that Gracia had handed to her. She then saw Izumi waiting at the doorway that led outside and she quickly signaled Sakura to come with her. The kunoichi, nevertheless, nodded with obedience and followed her. As soon as they walked out of the house, Sakura wondered where they were going.

She wanted to ask but the look of sternness in Izumi's face made Sakura tremble a little, meaning, "Don't-Try-To-Say-Anything-Just-Go-With-The-Flow-Understand?" look. Sakura sighed inwardly and just trailed after her, a little bit confused yet worried. What if she had found out her secret and was going to turn her in to those guys with the blue uniforms? Or… what if Izumi was a murderer and was going to kill her? Panic was taking over Sakura's mind as the questions raced around her head.

Later, Izumi turned to me and smiled gently, "You must be wondering where we're going, right Sakura?"

_Hell yeah. You could've just asked me that earlier… _"Yeah… where are we going?"

"Oh, for a nice hike, you know? There's this island in the middle of this beautiful lake and you have to see it." Izumi explained to me. _We're going hiking? Okay, that seems good enough instead of doing the work and everything else. _Sakura smiled to herself and she was willing to finally do something other than rearrange books, plates, or even mop dirty floors. Besides, it was just hiking right?

Then, Izumi led Sakura to a boardwalk with a boat waiting for them. Sakura looked around her surroundings and saw the small island far away. It had a few trees there and some sand; Sakura knew it might be a good place to hike and walk around. _Its beautiful…_

"Hey Sakura!" Izumi shouted, "Get your butt on the boat, now!"

Sakura shivered from her voice and turned to her, "U-Uh, coming! Sorry!"

So there they went on the boat, going to the small island at the middle of Kauroy Lake. Sakura sat close to the edge of the boat and placed her fingers on the water, letting it splash around her. She looked at the water and at her reflection and somehow, it freaked her out. Her own reflection was quite different now and is it just her—or her hair get a little longer? She didn't know her hair could grow that fast within three days of staying in the Fullmetal Alchemist world.

Sakura sighed and finally, they had reached the island.

The boat went to a complete stop as Izumi turned to Sakura, "Sakura, could you check if the sand is hot? My feet's kind of sensitive at the moment."

"Uh.. okay?" _Why would you want me to check the sand?! You're already wearing sandals…_

But, Sakura did it anyway, just to be kind and didn't want to get to Izumi's bad side. She got off the boat and started to feel the sand with her hands and checked if everything was all right. When she found out the sand was in a perfect temperature, she turned to Izumi—whom she noticed was floating away with the boat…

"What the…? IZUMI!" Sakura screamed, waving her arms.

Izumi just shouted back, "This is part of the deal remember and its for your own good. You don't seem to know discipline and I'm going to teach you about it. Don't use alchemy and I'll pick you up in thirty days and remember what this phrase means: All is one and One is All, got it?!"

"WHAT? WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Sakura's eyes only widened, he screaming getting louder at the moment, "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ALCHEMY!! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!!"

"Sorry Sakura, can't come back!" Izumi's voice was fading as the boat and her disappeared in the distance, leaving Sakura alone by herself in the wilderness and on the island in the middle of the lake.

_Great, just great, that crazy woman just had to leave me here with nothing but the woods around me. _Sakura scratched her pink-hair and looked around at the woods, it didn't seem like anyone was ever in here and besides, it looked like it would be fine—she can deal with that. Thirty days. Yeah, she can deal with that. Besides, its not like Izumi had told her not to use _ninjutsu_.

So, the kunoichi sat down on the sand, thinking of what to do. Sure, she had been in the same situation as this and that was back at the Chuunin Exams, when her team, which consisted of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, had to survive in the Forest of Death for seven days… _But this is—thirty days. Well, you can survive, right Sakura?_

"Better start looking for food. I need it ahead of time, just in case." Sakura stood up and decided to go in the woods. To dodge the branches, she uses her foot to kick it out of the way and she didn't care of how dirty it even was—just as long as it didn't have any bugs.

"Food… food… where am I suppose to—," Then Sakura was immediately cut off when a large-muscle man came out from the bushes. She flinched and back flipped way from him and when she got a good look at him, he was wearing a tribal mask and a ragged pants all around him.

His figure loomed over her as Sakura walked backwards and hit against a tree.

The masked man could speak words with the darkest voice:

"**This is my Island. All outsiders must die**."

* * *

**A/N: **

**-dodges the knives coming at her- I KNOW! I KNOW! Sakura hasn't met the Elric Brothers! –dodges more knives- YES! Maes had to die… I know, I loved him too! –dodges- Yeah, Sasuke isn't here you Sasuke-fan girls… wait… you really aren't concern for him aren't you?**

**(1)** – That is an alchemical quote from a real 'alchemist' by the name Paracelsus.

**(2)** – Half of that quote is taken from Adeline Cullen.

**I solemnly SWEAR that the Elric Brothers will make their true introduction. I swear, just don't kill me!**

**But—please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Fullmetal Alchemist

**A/N: The chapter you've been waiting for: Edward and Alphonse Elric finally makes their true appearance! I'm going to change a little bit of my writing style; it won't be too descriptive or something like that, just okay. –tends to write descriptive paragraphs- but anyways, I'll reply to reviews here now. Check out my replies at the end of the chapter!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto. Plot line is, of course, mine.

* * *

_**Chapter Seven—Fullmetal Alchemist**_

* * *

"_We all just need to live and be content while we can."_  
—_**Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist**_

* * *

"**This is my Island. All outsiders must die**."

_Crap, crap, crap! Who or what is this guy?! _Sakura bit her lip as the masked man held a large club up and was about to hit her. Sakura gasped and dodged the club. And when she had dodged, the club had hit the small tree behind her, nearly breaking it in half. Sakura's eyes widened. _Geez! This guy's strong!_

"Okay… look…" Sakura spoke, her hands waving at the guy with the tribal mask, "I know this is your island and all but you see, there's this crazy woman named Izumi and she just dropped me off here for freakin' thirty days! I'm not supposed to be here and I didn't mean to disrupt you or anything!"

The masked man only grunted, "My Island Get. Off."

Sweat poured down as Sakura tried to think of a tactic situation. Besides, wasn't she the most intelligent Genin Kunoichi of all Konohagure? She can get out of a situation this easy!

"Look—why don't we make a deal? I take this small, little portion of woods here and you can take the whole half of this island! Plus, I won't bother you, right, big guy?" Sakura laughed falsely, trying to make humor with the masked man.

However, the masked man only tilted his head and Sakura thought he understood her.

"Do—you get me?" Sakura asked again.

But then, the masked man raised his large club and Sakura screamed, "Okay! I'll take that as a complete NO!"

The pink-haired kunoichi started to dash through the woods as the masked man trailed behind her. Fear took over Sakura as she tried to use one of her chakra energy and place it at her feet but something was odd; the chakra didn't seem to comprehend with the speed and Sakura wasn't as fast as she hoped she was. _Why isn't my chakra working?! _She thought bitterly as she dove behind a tree and sat down. She hoped that the plants around the tree weren't poison ivy.

_I don't want to get all itchy and scratchy here. _Sakura pouted; this wasn't like the Chuunin Exams of the Forest of Death. This was completely hell. Well, there were some bright sides to this. There weren't other blood-thirsty ninjas around this island and plus, its relatively kind of small, unlike the Forest of Death, which was insanely big.

But the bad sides were—she had no food or nothing else packed, meaning, she had to get food by herself. Then there was her weird chakra energy, which didn't seem to grasp with her in a bad situation. Finally, there is this psychopathic guy chasing her down. _Great, I guess I'll have to start eating dirt for the next thirty days until Izumi comes back—well, when she does come back, ants would already eat my decrypted body._

Sakura soon notices that the masked man had stopped chasing her and she let out a breath of relief and stood up. She looks over her clothes and notices it was covered with dirt. Letting another breath out from her lips—except this time, it was a breath of frustration—she decided to dust it off. _Ugh, another thing I would always need while I'm here: A nice bath. But come on, Sakura, get a hold of yourself; you'll last for thirty days right? Along with Mr. Masked Crazy with you, you'll last._

"Let's see, some food." Sakura began to look around the wood areas, knowing it was safe to finally wander around to look for some food, "Let's see, didn't Kakashi-sensei said 'If there's no reliable source, get the animal'? Crap, I'll have to kill a small animal for this…"

The pink-haired girl's stomach began to mourn for food, pleading and grumbling. Sakura got a little annoyed. Her stomach was killing her and she needed food—really bad. She didn't even get a chance to eat breakfast so…

"Come on, are there any cute little animals?" Sure, Sakura despised killing some random animal but—she had to eat something really badly. Looking around, she heard something from the bushes and at first, she thought it was the masked man again and instead…

It was a small little fox.

_What a cute little fox… _Sakura thought randomly for her weakness was cute things. Before she would communicate with the fox, she had to look for a very large, thick, and sharp stick that already looked like a spear. With some luck, she had found one and placed it behind her back. Now the next part is to get the fox in a closer perimeter.

"Come here little one," Sakura enticed the fox in a motherly way. Kneeling down on the dirt, she signaled her fingers for the fox, "Come here, there's nothing to be afraid of…" _I sound such a molester of animals… I pity myself._

The fox's head only looked up at her and at first, it seemed like it understood what she was saying that it carefully approached her.

Sakura's eyes brightened and spoke, "Come on. I'm not leaving you." She was ready to stab the fox with the stick that was behind her.

It whimpered softly and soon, it growled. Then, next thing Sakura saw was the fox racing towards her and tackled her against the floor.

"What the!" Before she even had time to grab the fox off her, the fox bit her hip with its sharp teeth and then, when the fox let go, blood was coming out of the wounds. The fox retreated right away before Sakura had time to sit up.

_Damn that fox! _Sakura cursed inwardly when she sat up and when she did, she felt a sharp, jolting pain at her right hip. When she took a look at it, she saw that it was bleeding fast and it needed to be tendered soon. Gritting her teeth, she cursed herself and that fox. _I now pronounce that fox not being so cute._

Standing up weakly from the dirtied ground, Sakura held her wounded hip and walked towards the lake's water. The blood dripped along her way as Sakura collapsed on her knees when she was finally beside the water. Hoping that the masked man wasn't a pervert and was currently being a peeping tom on her, she took off her white shirt, revealing a small white bra.

Carefully and gently, Sakura washed the shirt in the water, scrubbing the staining blood. Then, she took an inspection of her wound and then, ripping a bit from her t-shirt, she wrapped it around tightly—hoping it would last. After it was washed, Sakura took the shirt and laid it flat on the sand, letting the sun crisp it to dry.

As it was drying, Sakura had thanked the heavens that the masked man wasn't there. She then took the stick she had found from the woods and decided to sharpen it with a large rock she had found on the shores. She needed this just in case—so she could fight something with the masked man. Sure, she was good with the kunai, shuriken, and a few small katana swords, but she was never skilled with the spear. It was her weakest weapon. _But it's worth the try._

As soon as the shirt was good enough to be worn, Sakura placed it on and decided to look for food. She decided that foxes weren't a suitable food for her and instead, she tried hunting for fish. It seemed easier enough to catch, so she'll try it.

Using her newly sharpened spear, she went into the waters and started to hunt for the fish. She easily caught two and killed them right away. When she had returned to the shores, all she needed to do was make fire. _Time to find sticks…_

Going back inside the woods (and hoping the masked man wasn't there), Sakura found pretty good sticks that she considered that could make fire. She also pulled out a few rocks, just in case if the fire was weak she could use that.

Then, the fire making began.

"**FIIIREEEE!!**" Sakura screamed, looking exactly like someone familiar before (A/N: The Elric Brothers!)

Sakura kept doing this until afternoon came along and then, the night sky was creeping in the sky. Finally, the burst of fire had appeared and Sakura could finally sit down and start burning the fish to crisp. _Finally, time to relax and eat my beloved fishes!_

While she began eating the fish, it was time for Sakura to think about a few things. She starts to remember how her mother used to cook fish for her in special occasions and she remembered how she would enjoy every minute of eating the fish. She also remembered the Chuunin Exams of the Forest of Death and how her teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, were hunting for fish one day—it was hilarious seeing them hunting the fast fishes in the river.

_Those were the memories… _Sakura soon realizes she was very homesick. Thinking about all her memories would make her stir into tears—she never knew how her home was very important to her. She always boasted about how she can survive away from her home and now that she's in a graphic novel, in an island on a lake, and along with a wild masked man in the wilderness—she realizes she wasn't ready on her own yet.

A tear slipped down from her emerald-green eye as she finished the second fish, only to be bothered by a loud grunting noise.

Sakura turned around quickly to see that the masked man had came out again. Instead of the hard, wooden club he has, he had a large knife instead. Sakura screamed and dodged the sudden, surprise attack. Rolling over in the dirt, Sakura stood up weakly; the pain from her hip was reopening.

She soon sees the Masked Man taking the last fish as Sakura yelled, "You're not taking my damn fish, you psychopath!"

With that, she raced towards him and did a sidekick, only to be grabbed by the masked man and flipped her all the way around. Sakura fell to her butt and the blood came out from the hip. _Damn that stinkin' fox for biting me—I can't be weak. _The kunoichi of Konohagure stood up from the ground and grabbed the sharpened spear-looking stick.

"Arghh!" She shouted with a fierce voice as she raced towards the masked man. The masked man only flipped away from her attack, grabbed the stick away from her hands, and then broke it in half. Sakura shifted her body back from the sudden pull and gasped.

_This guy… is… inhuman or something! _Sakura thought, her heart beating fast as she stepped away from him. _Izumi said that I'm not allowed to use alchemy but—she never said I can use ninjutsu! _

Sakura's green eyes expressed anger as she did a hand sign and trying to channel her chakra in one place. She felt the quick energy bursting within her and she remembered how Tsunade had taught her how to keep one chakra in one position of the body. _I hope what you said was right Tsunade-sama… I trust you. _You see, Sakura had learned a few secrets from Tsunade that she was willing to use it.

Of course, the masked man was confused at what Sakura was doing and he felt like she was finally down on her guard. With fast movement and pace, the masked man grabbed Sakura's neck and whispered, "Off my Island."

"N-Never…" Sakura choked and then, the masked man whirled her towards a tree and Sakura hit her back in the process. It didn't crack, however, but then, something inside Sakura's body had triggered and it seemed to have caused her chakra energy level down. Sakura screamed in pain and tried to stand up anyway—even if her body did not want to.

_W-What's… going on…? _Sakura tried to breathe but her chest began to hurt and at the same time, her head was throbbing uncontrollably with pain. Her legs were trembling and then, it seemed like her chakra energy was winding down. _Just like the battle with that creepy b-beggar… _

Sakura collapsed on her knees, coughing and clutching her chest. The wound from her hip was letting out blood quickly as Sakura panted for breath—it seemed like there was no air in her. Her head felt like it was going to blow up and her legs hurt badly. As Sakura was coughing, a red liquid came out from her lips…

"B-Blood…?" Sakura said, noticing the blood she had spit out from her mouth. Fear took over Sakura until she fell completely to the ground.

Her eyes were blurry at the time but she saw the masked man coming towards her. She then saw him took off his mask to reveal a man she had seen working around Izumi's shop…

"Kid! Sakura!" Mason shouted in panic, a few tears coming out of his eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"My… energy…" Sakura coughed weakly, the blood still coming out, "…I can't…"

When Mason saw Sakura coughing up blood—he could only think of Izumi. Quickly, he carried her in his arms and then said, "Don't worry, I have a boat. We'll get you there as soon as I can… are you holding on…?"

"Mr. M-Mason…" Sakura managed to speak, her voice hoarse, "… I-I'm not an a-alchemist…"

"I know," Mason replied, "I'll tell Izumi that you can't do it; she'll understand…"

Soon, Sakura had been placed in the extra boat Mason had and Mason used his cloth to cover Sakura up from the cold as he rowed the boat back to Dublith. Night had already come and the rain appeared—washing the two away.

Sakura continued to cough uncontrollably—her life feeling like it was spilling away from her…

_W-Why… am… I like this?_

"_**It is your fate, Sakura Haruno."**_

_My f-fate…?_

"_**You are more than what you used to be… and you will find out soon enough…"**_

_S-Soon… enough…_

* * *

…_**Edward Elric…**_

…_Fullmetal Alchemist…_

"Oh no!! The train's leaving!!"

"Alphonse, run!!"

Long, blonde-bangs covered his malleable face, as he kept running, eager to get on the train to go straight to his teacher's house. He cursed at himself; why did they have to stay at Rush Valley for a long time? There was nothing really in there! It was just a bunch of auto-mail shops and damn auto-mail mechanics chasing him because of his, quoted by Winry, his 'great auto-mail' design. _I should've just dropped her here and gave her some of my money and left right away with Alphonse—the whole thing here was just crazy and wacky._

"But yet… it was full of experience…" Edward Elric, the Legendary Fullmetal Alchemist, said to himself with a smile as he finally reached the train and climbed with his brother at the edge. By the time they had reached it, the train was already starting and everything.

"Do you have everything?" Edward's gentle younger brother, Alphonse Elric, asked him.

"Yeah, hopefully." Edward replied, waving his hand to bid his childhood friend, Winry Rockbell, goodbye. She was staying in Rush Valley to be an apprentice of a great auto-mail mechanic and Edward smiled at this for he knew by the time Winry fixes his auto-mail again, it would be a lot more better—and plus, it can make him taller.

Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric were two famous brothers that were heard of all over the country of Amestris. Edward, being the youngest State Alchemist at the age of twelve, was called a prodigy. His younger brother, Alphonse, was encased in an armor with his soul attached—the reason of this left a great burden for the two brothers, along with Edward's metal right arm and leg…

So, the two brothers' goal is to get their body back and that was—finding the Philosopher's Stone.

"Brother," Alphonse spoke while they finally found a seat to sit on the train, "How are we suppose to tell teacher about the Philosopher's Stone? What if she gets all…?"

"I know, Alphonse," Edward replied right away, "But I'm taking any chances. The information that Sergeant Denny had found out about the higher-ups was—something I never thought of 'something' like that would come from a Philosopher's Stone."

"But isn't the Philosopher's Stone's main ingredient is from Human Beings?" Alphonse questioned, remembering the research they had a while ago about the stone and how it was being made and processed, "And what about the people we met in Laboratory Five, didn't they say something—or even someone—can possess the Philosopher's Stone's power?"

"Yeah, it was like what Sergeant had said," Edward said, scratching his chin, "The higher-ups had told him that there is a _**true**_ Philosopher's Stone that was created… more powerful than the ones we had seen."

"The true Philosopher's Stone…" Alphonse wondered.

"Yeah, a Philosopher's Stone hidden in some kind of concubine," Edward explained, his mind thinking deeper, "An alchemist years ago had said to have developed the true Philosopher's Stone. A Philosopher's Stone that can never be destroyed or worn out—it was something that can actually ignore the rules of Equivalency and—it could actually make someone immortal."

"_Immortal? _But brother, isn't that impossible? And—what do they mean a 'concubine'?" Alphonse asked, not getting this whole information of what they had found. Sure, it was information that they are close to getting… but not as close yet.

"I don't know, Alphonse. But concubine means—its somewhere inside something, which means, we'll have to dig it out and find the concubine," The Fullmetal Alchemist replied, his golden-eyes peering out the window and watching the world pass by, "But… they told me one thing about the concubine."

"And what would that be, brother?"

"_**The blood is poison; a heart with no bounds and the most beautiful at first glance and withers as soon as it is pained. A face sent from above to only be surrounded by the cruelty of humanity.**_"

"It sounds like a riddle."

"I know…" Edward muttered. _I hate riddles._

Alphonse then perked up, "That's why we're going to talk to Teacher. Maybe she'll know something of this riddle. Besides, Teacher is good at riddles remember? 'All is One and One is All'? She might have heard of it before…"

"Yeah, you're right…" Edward smiled to himself, "But for now, its nice to reconnect with someone you have not seen for a long time… and that's our teacher."

* * *

"Oh… Sakura… I didn't know that she…"

"She wasn't an alchemist, Mrs. Izumi,"

"I-I know… what had happened there last night, Mason?"

Sakura's eyes opened softly and noticed that she was in her room at the Curtis house. It was dark but she could tell, from the windows that were shut tight by the curtains, that it was daylight outside. The pink-haired kunoichi felt like half of her life was just taken away from her and that she couldn't breathe properly anymore. She did not understand what had caused her to be like that.

_W-Was it because of my chakra…? _Sakura thought weakly. She felt that her energy or her chakra, for that matter, didn't seem to want to flow within her body anymore. When she would try to channel all her might in chakra, it wouldn't allow her to use it. It was as if—Sakura was banned from doing anything related to chakra or ninjutsu. _W-Why is this happening? _

She then heard the voices outside.

Mason spoke, "All I could remember was—Sakura doing an odd hand sign, like she was twisting the position of her hands and fingers and then, there was this rapid energy that was going on inside of her, like it was taking over her all of the sudden. Then, I thought she was just wanting me to fight her so I went a little hard and just threw her off the wall."

"And then what else?" Izumi questioned, her voice slightly shivering.

"Calm down, dear, its alright," Sig said, cooing her down.

"Its not okay, honey," Izumi spoke right away, her voice fierce with a tint of concern, "Sakura was in danger of something inside of her—I know it. I could just tell. Mason, was she doing alchemy?"

"No m'am. The kid was just doing these hand signs. She didn't clap her hands or anything." Mason explained, "Plus, she had told me she wasn't an alchemist and her voice expressed the truth. Izumi, I was worried about her—I didn't know we were going to make it back in time."

Sakura heard that Izumi, Sig, and Mason were silent for a moment.

Finally, Izumi spoke, her voice no longer sounding fierce, stern, or strict—yet, it was motherly, "I… I'm sorry. How come every child I have to see or meet… is always close to danger? It's the same thing with Edward and Alphonse…"

"Dear, its alright, at least she is safe now." Sig assured her, "She's in her room, tucked in bed, changed clothes, and sleeping. She'll get her energy up by tomorrow."

"I see, I was worried—very worried, Sig," Izumi spoke with a weak voice as she sighed, "But that girl—when I first met her, she—had something in her eyes… just like my apprentices, Ed and Al. She had the eyes of a rising fighter and I didn't know I'd see something like that in my life. Those eyes reminded me of myself when I wanted to be stronger."

Sakura's eyes widened when she had heard this; she never knew that Izumi could compare herself to her and this had made Sakura a little bit confused. She tried to sit up—she didn't want to be stuck in bed all day long, however, her body immediately dropped down. It was too weak to even sit up! _Why is my body like this? Argh! Work on me, dammit! _Sakura sighed with frustration in her mind as she pulled the blankets over her body.

Staring up at the ceiling, Sakura wondered how long she was going to stay in the graphic novel. She knew that she had a goal to do and that was to help Edward Elric, the main character of the book. If she had completed her task—she would be able to go home and be reunited with her friends again! She would be able to continue her kunoichi duties and everything in between. And she will also complete her apprenticeship with Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.

_But am I also an apprentice with Izumi? _Sakura thought, brushing her pink-hair off her emerald-green eyes. Her eyes were closing and her vision began to blur and soon, she had fallen asleep—not to realize that the door was knocking on the Curtis Household.

* * *

Edward knocked on the door of the Curtis Household as soon as they had arrived Dublith. His brother and him were very anxious to see their teacher, Izumi Curtis, yet they were afraid that she might freak out on them again or do something the unthinkable. You see, during their early trainings under Izumi, she was a disciplined lady that would kick and punch them if they do not understand something. She would also yell over them and sometimes, kick them out of the house and let them sleep there as a punishment.

_Yes, it was a very scary experience. _Edward groaned inwardly, scratching his long blonde bangs that stretched across a quite good-looking face. Edward never considered him a very attractive male—though some girls that had passed by him said so. He just didn't have time for physical appearance or anything like that. His first priority was getting his and his brother's body back and there's no turning back right now.

While they were waiting, a loud voice shouted over them, "Hi!! Can I help you?!"

Edward and Alphonse screamed with shock as they both collapsed on the floor. The person who shouted at them turned out to be Mason, the helper at the Izumi place. Edward and Alphonse remembered him as the man who attacked them at the island—and to see that the masked man and him were complete opposites.

_Mason, phew, I thought it was our teacher or something… _Edward sighed and stood up.

"Edward? Is that you?" Mason recognized him right away, "Long time no see!"

"You're… Mason right…?" Edward said slowly, still recovering from the sudden shock, "Hi…"

Mason quickly shot out his hand and started to pat Edward heavily on the head, "Ah haha! You've gotten so big!"

Sure it was a compliment for Edward—but it felt like he was being treated as a child. He was fifteen for god's sake! _This is really pissing me off…_

Mason stopped patting Edward on the head and turned his attention at the armored Alphonse, "And who's your friend in the armor?"

Alphonse hoped that he wouldn't see through him like he always did and instead, he spoke shyly, "…I'm his younger brother, Alphonse…"

"…" Mason was silent for a moment, "…You've gotten really **big**."

Edward and Alphonse laughed nervously around the overly excited Mason as they both thought: _I hope—that he won't start asking questions…_

"You came to see Izumi, right?" Mason questioned and then grinned, "Just wait a sec. I'll go get her out. We had a guest a while ago and she's been taking care of her. She might be a little busy, but we'll see."

"You have a visitor?" Edward raised an eyebrow, wondering whom this new 'guest' or 'visitor' was. _Lemme guess, it might be her new apprentice or something. Ha! I hope this guy isn't as better as me, I'll tear this guy apart… _He smirked with pride and crossed his arms, "Ha, I'll beat this guy for sure!"

"Brother, what're you talking about?"

"Nothing, Alphonse, nothing." Laughed the blonde male as he scratched his head again.

Inside, they heard Mason called, "Hey boss! You have some guest waiting at the back!"

"Guests?"

Suddenly, the Elric Brothers heard loud steps coming inside from the house and the door had fully opened. They turned around to see a large, big—no, gigantic man—stepping out from the house. He was holding a butcher's knife and he was dressed in butcher clothing that was covered with meat's blood. At first glance, this guy looks almost like a murderer or something however…

"N…Nice to see you again… Sig." Edward and Alphonse said at the same time, trembling inside…

Sig's eyes popped out and then his hand shifted at Edward first and literally "glomping" him at the head with his strong hand. "Good to see you again! You've gotten big!"

_Not if you keep squishing me… _Edward glared at him inconspicuously.

"And who's this?" Sig questioned to see Alphonse.

"It's me—Alphonse. Its good to see you again also." Alphonse replied, laughing nervously.

Sig, miraculously, accepted him quickly and patted him on the head, "I see… you've gotten big."

Alphonse smiled inside when Sig patted him on the head. _That's the first time I've gotten a pat on the head since I became a suit of armor…_

"Why the sudden visit?" Sig asked.

"There was something we wanted to ask teacher…"

"Oh I see, come with me then." Sig signaled the brothers to follow him for a moment to greet Izumi…

* * *

Izumi sat on the chair next to Sakura as she placed a cloth in a small bucket of warm water. The female alchemist had noticed that Sakura had a few scratches on her arms and some on her face. Dabbing it with a small medicine to clean away the bacteria and the blood, Izumi pressed it gently on Sakura's clear face. She had smiled when Sakura did not move an inch when she had done that.

_Oh Sakura—what really happened to you? _From the moment she had seen Sakura that day with the beggar, Izumi had sensed something different about her. It wasn't just her physical appearance that stood out but her presence. Izumi could tell that there is more to Sakura than what she really is. _What are you really, Sakura? Are you sure you had come from Central like you had said? _Of course Izumi can respect some secrets but in the look of Sakura's eyes, there's something lingering there that she does not want to tell.

When she inspected the small blood scratches from Sakura's wounds—she noticed, they didn't look like blood… or even had the scent of it. _That's odd. The blood has no smell and it looks too thick to even be one…_

"Izumi,"

A voice had called from the window as Izumi stood up from her chair to face her husband, "Yes, Sig?"

"Is she okay?" Sig questioned.

"Yes—she's sleeping peacefully." Izumi replied, "I was just cleaning her wounds."

"Well, that's good. The Elric Kids are here."

"Ed and Al?"

"Yes."

An angered expression appeared across Izumi's face as she walked out from Sakura's room, "I'll be right out." _Those stinking boys—they think they can come back to me… when I've heard rumors about their so-called Military Connection?!_

* * *

Edward and Alphonse waited nervously outside. They hoped that their teacher would not suspect anything of what they had done or what had become of them since they were gone. The two brothers knew about the consequences of what their teacher would do to them if she found out they had committed human transmutation and loosing a few limbs and a body. Yeah, like there was absolutely no _consequence_ or _punishment_ to that…

"Do you think teacher wasn't feeling well?" Alphonse whispered silently to his brother.

"I hope she's doing well." Edward whispered back. The two brothers soon heard footsteps coming towards the door and the two of them tensed, praying she wouldn't be suspicious.

The door opened.

**BAM!**

A leg came out from the door quickly and had kicked Edward square on the face and flinging him towards the far away distance.

"GWAAAAHH!!" Edward screamed in pain as he hit his whole body against the tree. Not only that, he had more bruises.

Alphonse gasped inside his armor and stood away from the door. _Oh no… Oh no…_

"Well, if isn't my fool of an apprentice!! I heard a lot of **rumors** about you two, even out here in Dublith!"

Izumi stepped out from the door, hands clenched, and teeth gritting. She was pissed, all right. The look on her face already yelled out that she wasn't happy to see Edward at all. She did not like the military—no, scratch that—she _hated_ the military and especially the State Alchemist. She did not believe in the whole 'Human Weapons of War' thing and did not appreciate it. She was even angrier when it was her very own apprentice that had became part of the whole military renegade.

"So you've stooped so low as to become a Dog of the Military, have you?" Izumi screamed, "Well?!"

"SAY SOMETHING!" She ordered Edward, even if he was bruised and hurt by her powerful kick.

Her husband, Sig, picked up the blonde-alchemist and sighed, "It's no use, Izumi, I believe he's knocked out."

Edward was truly knocked out.

And for Alphonse, he was already tiptoeing out of here. "Eep!"

However, Izumi's sharp senses caught to him, "And who are _you_ in the armor?"

"I-It's me, Alphonse," Alphonse said, waving his hands defensively, hoping—praying that his teacher wouldn't do that to him like she had done to his brother, "Teacher, um… um…"

"Al!" Izumi's expression changed to a more 'softer' one, "You've gotten so big."

She shifted her hand out to shake as Alphonse grabbed it, "Teacher you haven't changed…"

As soon as Alphonse grabbed her hand, Izumi whirled him and flipped him all the way around without any hesitation. Alphonse hit the ground hard as Izumi groaned.

"You've let yourselves get weak!" Izumi scoffed, walking away from them.

Meanwhile with Edward, he was still knocked out.

"I thought you weren't feeling well, Teacher…" Alphonse said gently, petrified of his teacher's wrath.

"What are you talking about?!" screamed the Alchemist of Dublith, "YOU THINK AFTER YOU TWO CAME ALL THIS WAY, I'D JUST STAY IN BED AND—,"

Then, unexpectedly, Izumi coughed out some blood as Sig quickly got her pills.

"I told you not to strain yourself. Here's your pill, dear."

Izumi took them and cooed, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Honey…!!"

"Oh don't talk like that, dear." Sig cooed back affectionately.

Edward finally woke up from his long 'knocked out' moment and spoke, "Maybe… we should start over… nice to see you again…"

Izumi laughed, feeling a little better, "Uh-Huh! Welcome back!"

* * *

"Uh-Huh! Welcome back!"

Opening her eyes slowly, Sakura sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't know how long she had slept but it felt like it was an eternal sleep. She heard Izumi's voice from outside and some other unknown voices and soon, she heard voices from outside her room. Standing up and scratching her pink-hair, she decided to listen at the voices from outside.

_Who's the newcomer? _Sakura thought and placed her ear closed to the door.

"So, what brings you here?" Sakura heard Izumi spoke.

"We just wanted to see you and how you were doing," An unknown voice replied, "Plus, we needed to ask you something."

_I wonder who that is. _Sakura bit her lip and listened carefully.

"And what would that be?" questioned Izumi.

"Do you know anything about the Philosopher's Stone?" The unknown voice had asked and when Sakura had heard that, something inside of her triggered.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Izumi asked.

"We just thought you might know something about it…"

"I've never had any interest in the stone."

Sakura released her ear from the door as she shivered down her spine. The word, Philosopher's Stone, sounded so familiar in her head. Where did she hear that word? Where? Sakura's lips slightly move and tried to be brave. _Okay, I got to do this… not going to pull myself away from this situation…_

"Why do you want to research something that's just a legend?" Izumi asked again.

"Uh… well… just out of intellectual curiosity!"

"…" Sakura felt that Izumi was silent for a moment but then, she heard her again, "The Philosopher's Stone, huh…?"

Then, Sig spoke up, "Now that I think about it, on our last trip to Central we met an alchemist who knew a lot about the Stone."

"Oh yeah, that guy!" Izumi remembered, "Ed, Al, the man we met—uh, I think he called himself…"

"Hohenheim."

_**BAM!**_

Sakura had fell recklessly out the door as she stumbled upon the floor, hitting her head on the process. Izumi and Sig stood up from their chairs and the two newcomers also.

Sakura scrambled up from the floor, rubbing her head from the throbbing pain, "Ouch…" _Man, these doors can be so breakable…_

While trying to get her painful feeling out from her head, she had finally looked up—only to see Izumi, Sig, an armored man and…

"Edward…?" Sakura spoke hoarsely—remembering those golden eyes staring right out from the cover of the graphic novel, "…Edward… Elric…?"

Edward Elric stood there in shock and felt discomfited at the sudden situation of the girl coming out from the door like that. He also had noticed that the girl—had noticeable pink hair that can stand out from the crowd. _What girl has pink hair?_

"…Uh, yeah, that's me…" Edward waved his hand.

Sakura blinked. She had caught herself staring at him and then stood up and bowed.

"Ahaha… nice to meet you?" Sakura smiled crookedly.

Awkward…

* * *

**A/N: I had fun writing this chapter and finally, Sakura and Edward had finally met after six long, torturous chapters! I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I did and please review!!**

**Replying to Reviews Section;**

**Chapter Six Reviews:**

**Synneofthesun: **Yes, poor Sakura and how'd you know her jutsus aren't working? XD, just kidding.

**KunoichiruleALL: **Okay, okay, I'm bringing in the Elrics, sheesh, sheesh! People these days are just so impatient now! –grabs the Elric Brothers and throws them at the reviewer- There! You happy now? I brought in the Elrics! XD.

**Vintage-Smiles: **Aw, thanks for the compliment—I really am evil. –smiles evilly- but yes, I am great… I know, no need to tell me. Anyways, thank you for the review! It took me a while to think about the plot and now here it is! As you know, most of it is Fullmetal Alchemist Manga-verse so you had better read the manga!

**Nikki Mustang: **Please… don't have fits, the chapter is already here, you can calm down now. –laughs-

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** Yes, Allie, I know you did. GET USED TO IT. Cliffhangers are never going to leave in my world! Mwahaa! Oh no, that fan girl crack wasn't about you. Puh-leeze, like I could ever upset you. –coughs- Yeah, that fan girl crack was about you –cough-.

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Yes, Sakura definitely needs it. The girl's been bashed throughout many times—well, I guess you find out she only stayed there for one day… due to damn chakra problems…

**The-Living-Shadow:** Yes, gotta love Hinata and Naruto!

Thanks to all the other reviewers here:

**xXHitsuxSakuXx, SAQ78642, xxxReadySteadyGoxxx**

_**The Next Chapter Is… Coming Soon!**_


	8. Chapter 8: First Impressions

**A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! –Laughs- anyways, moving on to the real topic, here's Chapter Eight of 'Renkinjutsu'! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.**

**Fullmetal meets Flower. Is this a great turning point? But wait—weren't they never fated to meet in the first place?**

**Oh and here are the ages of the characters:**

**Sakura – Twelve and a Half**

**Edward – Fifteen**

**Alphonse – Fourteen**

**Naruto – Thirteen**

**Hinata – Twelve**

**Sasuke – Thirteen**

**Winry – Fourteen**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist. The Plot line is, of course, mine.

Oh and review replies are at the bottom!

Please review, no flames accepted but constructive criticism. **NOTE**: For reviewers (some of you, not naming anyone), no offense, I get tired of having to see reviews that state absolutely nothing but 'please update', it makes me want to know if you liked it or what part I need to work on. Can you at least tell me what you like or what I need to improve on, please? I'd be greatly appreciated to at least continue the story faster until it gets to a good part and finally, finishes.

* * *

_**Chapter Eight—First Impressions**_

* * *

_"You have to accept that people are going to stay in your heart…  
Even if they are out if your life."_  
—_**Sakura Haruno**_

* * *

"_**What have you done, Haruno Sakura?"**_

"_**Did you not hear the warning…?"**_

"_**You and Edward are never fated to meet."**_

"_**Ever…"**_

"_**But… how could you attempt to do such a thing?"**_

"_**To meet an Alchemist…"**_

"_**As sinful as he."**_

Sakura was standing on the floor, nervous and aware of the people staring at her. After the awkward moment of falling out from the door and humiliating herself in front of Izumi, Sig, the armored man, and Edward—Sakura felt so insecure at the moment. Shaking her head to let the pink-bangs brush away from her, she looked back at them.

Edward, on the other hand, stood still like Sakura. He was standing from his chair and he was just staring at her—feeling something was wrong. _As soon as she came in, there's no doubt, there's something this girl is hiding. _Of course, Edward wouldn't start to shoot out questions just like what Izumi had done to Sakura, for he knew better than that. He'll only start to so-called 'interrogate' someone when he fully knows him or her.

There was complete silence that was shared between them as Sakura trembled. When she had looked to Edward's eyes, it was piercing right at her. It wasn't as soft and as honey-golden in the book when she first took a glance at it. One look from him—it seemed to overwhelm her in a matter of seconds. The pink-haired kunoichi turned away from his eyes and just stared at her right. _…Why can't I look at him…?_

Not bearing the torturous moments of silence, Izumi spoke, "Sakura! Are you alright?"

Izumi grew somewhat motherly towards the Haruno Girl. She didn't realize that till now—she wanted to feel like a mother ever since the mistake she had made and Sakura—was like the daughter she never had. Every time Sakura might get close to danger, she will do anything she can to save the girl. She did not want Sakura in death's hands…

Sakura blinked and turned to the female alchemist, "I-I'm fine, Izumi, I was just being clumsy. I wanted to get some water so I tried to open the door but then, I got reckless and bam, there it went!" _Okay, another fib to be told Sakura, why can't you just tell them that you were eavesdropping and stuff! God, I don't want to lie anymore…_

"Thank goodness," Izumi sighed under her breath and smiled at her, "Here, why don't I get you the water, okay? You can go back to your room."

"No, I'll stay here…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

With that, Izumi proceeded to go to the cabinet and took out a paper cup. She then went to the sink, turned the faucet, and let the clear, clean water out. She then placed the water in the cup and handed it over to Sakura. Sakura reluctantly took it and drank from it.

"Thank you," Sakura said politely, refreshing herself.

While this was going on, Edward can't help but just stare at the newcomer with pink-hair. He had felt something odd about her—something otherworldly for that matter. The energy source that was coming from the girl seemed weak, however, there was more in store. He didn't feel any alchemic energy, though, but he definitely knew the energy he was feeling wasn't an ordinary one—no matter how weak it was.

_Something isn't right… I'll examine her further. _Edward muttered something under his lips and sat back down on the chair again and turned his face away from the girl called Sakura.

Sakura had noticed that the alchemist had sat down and glanced at him, only to be glanced back harshly by Edward. When Edward glanced—well, more like, **glared**—at her, making Sakura tremble. He didn't seem to appreciate her presence at all that the pink-haired Kunoichi stood back a bit.

"Brother…" The armored man whispered silently, "What are you doing…?"

"I don't like her very much, Al," Edward replied, still glaring at the girl, "Her very position here makes me sick…"

Izumi had noticed that Edward and Alphonse were still looking at Sakura peculiarly and Sakura being uneasy. Sighing, she decided to ease them up and tried to get them acquainted with each other.

"Edward, Alphonse," She called the blonde and the armor, "Like she said, this is Sakura Haruno, she came from Central just two days ago and I decided to let her stay here, under me and Sig's wing. I want you to all treat each other fully and well. Now Sakura, go and properly introduce yourself."

Sakura turned to Izumi, a little hesitant, "Yes, Izumi."

She then walked slowly to the Elric Brothers and bowed her head, "I-I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you."

Unlike his brother, Alphonse was kind enough to introduce himself, "A pleasure to meet you, Sakura, I'm Alphonse Elric." He shifted his hand for her to shake.

Sakura's eyes glance at the large hand; she never shook a hand as big as that before. Nevertheless, she did it anyways, just to be polite.

Edward, on the other hand, just shook his head away from Sakura. He didn't want to meet the girl who fell out of the door, especially a girl with pink-hair. By first impression, Edward had already despised the girl—without having a proper introduction. Alphonse had sighed quietly…his brother being so harsh on someone new.

Fretfully, Sakura walked over to Edward and stuttered, "H-Hi, nice to meet you, Edward. I'm sorry for bothering and everything, so, uh, yeah…"

Sakura shifted her hand towards him to shake. Edward looked at it for just a second and turned his head away, "Yeah, whatever."

Her eyes widened and then narrowed down—she just had a cold turn down from the main character, which she expected to be heroic, nice, and sweet. But, it turned to the opposite way around—this main character was stubborn, blunt, and easily tempered. _And from what Naruto said, Edward Elric was a famous and popular character… I don't get why fan girls even like him, if he's this stubborn headed._

However, deep down, Sakura felt bad when Edward had turned down her friendship zone card. She imagined him to have that toothy-smile and said, 'Hey! Nice to meet you!' and instead, its: 'I hate you. Don't talk to me and get away from my face' thing. Sakura shifted her hand away from the blonde alchemist and placed it behind her back.

…And she was supposed to help him too…

Izumi had noticed the sudden coldness Edward had towards Sakura and she approached him, slapping him across his head, "EDWARD!"

"What?!" whined the alchemist, cupping the pain on his head, "What the hell did I do?!"

_Brother… _Alphonse thought, humiliated. He can't even believe he was related to a guy like Edward, so, he decided to turn his head away from Edward's bickering and Izumi's yelling. Sig just walked away from the predicament and as for Sakura, she was getting annoyed. She was offended, shrugged off, and treated rudely by Edward in first impression.

And Sakura was not the one to appreciate that. She also didn't appreciate how he was treating Izumi in such a rude way that she…

…She clenched her fist and then looked at Edward and screamed, "**ED**!!"

"**WHAT**?!" Edward screamed back at her, standing up from the chair. Even if Edward was oblivious to this, he was taller than Sakura, in about four inches.

"You…" Sakura twitched and slapped him across the face, **"YOUR SUCH A RUDE JERK!"**

And with that, she ran off back to her room and slammed the door closed, leaving Edward with a staining red pain on his cheek.

Edward lifted his hand to cup his cheek and when he touched it gently, it sent a throbbing pain all over his body. Whatever it was, Sakura had sure hit him hard across the face. _This will leave a mark for days… darn that girl. _From all of this, Edward still didn't appreciate her around and sat back down on his chair, crossed his arms, and turned his head away from the others.

Alphonse was still mortified.

And Izumi—she was starting to get ticked off by Edward's attitude change around Sakura that she grabbed him in the collar and punched him across the face, making Edward snap out and realize he had to show respect for his own Teacher when he had come here. Looking up at Izumi, Edward flinched and lessened his eyes on the floor.

"I never seen such crude behavior—from my own apprentice!" Izumi chided, "What did I ever teach you? To disrespect those who are somewhat different from appearance!?"

"No…" The Fullmetal Alchemist muttered.

"That girl, Edward," Izumi's eyes softened, however, her voice was still as fierce, "…She has been through a lot, I can tell, with the many invisible bruises she expresses…"

"WELL I'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT TOO!" Edward screamed stubbornly, only to get another punch across from him, silencing the boy.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Izumi shouted, "I care about her, Edward, just like I care about you and Alphonse!!"

She dropped Edward on the floor and crossed her arms, "Your such a fool… I don't even know what else to say to you…"

Izumi turned her face away from him but she did not walk away like she usually did, she stood there, as if she was signaling Edward to say something.

* * *

Sakura was inside her room, sitting down on the floor and hugging her knees. She was next to her bed and muttering curse words under her mouth. She couldn't believe that jerk was even a main character! Why would she come to think that—that short-tempered jerk would actually be the main character of the story! From what everyone had said, Edward was a great character—and Naruto even looks up to him!

_Such lies… maybe because they never actually met him in person. They just saw him in paper and drawn with ink. _The pink-haired girl thought acrimoniously, hugging her legs tighter. _And I'm supposed to help a guy like him save his brother from his soul rejection? He even treated Izumi horribly… _She shook her head, her emerald-eyes being down cast at the moment when she heard someone turning the knob of her door.

"Huh? Who's there?" Sakura spoke up, sitting properly now.

"I-It's me, Miss Sakura, A-Alphonse," A small echoing voice came as an armored man peeked from the door, wanting to know what was going on, "A-Are you there?"

Sakura breathe out an air of relief from her red lips and smiled, "Yes, you may come in." _At least he isn't Edward or even Izumi for that matter. I can't believe he's even Ed's little brother, they're such opposites._

Alphonse struggled his way to go through the door and when he finally came in, he shut the door. Soon, he approached Sakura and sat down next to her on the floor. Sakura scooted over to let him have room to sit next to her and when they finally settled down, it became complete silence, for they don't know what to say to each other.

Alphonse, since he was still such a young boy inside the armor, was nervous around girls—but he didn't want to be like that right now…

"I'm sorry," Alphonse apologized, breaking the silence.

"What…?" Sakura's eyes blinked, looking at the armored boy beside her. "Al… you didn't…"

"No, about my brother, I'm apologizing for him," Alphonse said with a sigh.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and then blinked a few times. She didn't know what to say—but a little brother apologizing for his older brother… they seemed to have a bond with each other. _Alphonse should've been the main character, people would've liked him better than being the secondary character. _Sakura laughed evilly inside her mind.

Alphonse looked at her and spoke, "Sakura, Edward isn't really that mean—he just feels uncomfortable around people he doesn't know or he doesn't trust right away. You see, brother doesn't like to trust people easily, its something he vowed to do unless the person proves himself to him."

"What a stubborn headed freak," Sakura scoffed.

Alphonse sweat dropped, "That's what everyone says at first but really… the reason why he doesn't want to trust people is because he doesn't want to let his guard down or anything. He vowed it because he and I have a goal to accomplish."

The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes had softened and asked, "What goal?"

Alphonse looked up at the ceiling and then replied, "To get our bodies back."

* * *

"_**Dante**_."

"Naruto-kun, what d-do you mean, _D-Dante_?" Hinata questioned while the two of them were in the old files room of the Konohagure library. After many times of searching through many book, Naruto had came across the name of 'Dante' and something about it had caught his eye. That word sounded so familiar in his mind—but he just didn't know where to start with it.

"I don't know," Naruto replied, scratching his blonde-spiked hair, "When I was looking through the alchemy books back there… the name just keeps popping up and everything. I think I've seen that word before—other than looking here in the library."

Hinata bit her lip for a moment and decided to look around the bookshelves that were not checked. She placed her fingertips in one certain book and being hesitant for a moment, Hinata tried to think over about something. She shook her head. Could she be right at what she had just remembered?

As for Naruto, alchemy was never his expertise. He was always caught up on the varieties of different jutsus. Ranging from ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, something about alchemy was nagging him. It felt like—alchemy could be a true potential to him. Ever since he started to read the graphic novel, Fullmetal Alchemist, he always seemed to clap his hands when he tries to do a hand sign. He knows its stupid to connect ninjutsu with alchemy—but when he clapped his hands once and then did the hand sign, the jutsu seems relatively powerful than it usually was.

Is Alchemy more than just changing substances to Gold?

And then, looking at the diagrams, it reminded him of the 'Sealing Diagram' or the 'Healing Diagram' in Jutsus. It was just inverted in some shapes. Naruto had come to believe that maybe… the jutsus… the diagrams… could connect to the effects of Alchemy. And maybe, if he gets close to the point, he can find a way to get Sakura-chan back.

He wasn't sure if his theories were right and besides, he was getting a headache…

He needs some good 'ol ramen…

"N-Naruto." Hinata spoke, breaking Naruto's throbbing headache feeling.

The Kyuubi Concubine turned to the Hyuuga Girl, "Yeah, what is it?"

Hinata took out one of the volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist and handed it to him, "L-Look who wrote the book."

When Naruto flipped the page to where Hinata was pointing, he had found something that made his cerulean blue eyes widened, "No way…"

Before he was about to say anything, a hard voice interrupted him:

"_**What the hell are you doing here, dobe?**_"

"SASUKE!" Naruto dropped the book and immediately stood up. Hinata flinched and walked behind Naruto.

There, at the doorway, a raven-haired, black-onyx eyed boy about Naruto and Hinata's age stood there, hands in his pockets. From the looks of it, Naruto didn't want the boy there and in Hinata's perspective, the boy's presence, just in the room, made her shiver. She really didn't like him at all.

Uchiha Sasuke blinked and then stepped into the room, "You know the librarian doesn't want you in this room."

"Who cares!" shouted the Uzumaki at the Last Uchiha living, "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke just smirked at him and approached the room, looking at the books that were scattered on the ground. Kneeling down, he picked one book and took a look at it. Naruto just kept glaring at him, never taking his eyes off Sasuke. He didn't like him being here or anything like that, he just wanted him out.

"Alchemy?" Sasuke said the title of the book, "Why would you want to learn something as dumb as this?"

Naruto grabbed the book away from his hand, "It's none of your business, teme, just get out of here."

Sasuke ignored Naruto's demand and turned to Hinata, "And Hinata Hyuuga, your with him?"

Hinata's eyes widened and hid behind Naruto's back, unable to face the Uchiha in the eye.

Naruto clenched his fist and tried to compose his resentment, "Look, I know you're my teammate and all but will you please leave? If you're looking for me just for training, I'll do it later. Now will you go and—,"

"You know where Sakura Haruno is, don't you?"

"…"

"What of it?" Naruto glared at him, letting the Uchiha know the words hidden in his eyes: _Back off_. Even if they were teammates, Naruto didn't fully trust Sasuke in these situations. Sure he would trust him with plans and how to get away from the enemy… but finding someone, who was stuck in a book for instance, Naruto would not trust him.

"It just concerns me of why I haven't seen her for a while and all the bustling back at her home," Sasuke looked around the old files room a little bit more and knelt down to pick up another book—which was the Fullmetal Alchemist one.

"Fullmetal Alchemist?" Sasuke said.

Naruto came up to him again and grabbed the book away, "Would you just leave?! Besides, why would you care about Sakura-chan?! Whenever she tries to help you, you shrug her away and now—your all 'concerned' for her!"

Black-onyx eyes just stared at Naruto's cerulean-blue eyes as Sasuke placed both his hands in his pockets again and narrowed his eyes on the floor. The long bangs of his hair covered half of his face.

"Now what?!" Naruto yelled at him, only to be stopped by Hinata's hand coming on his shoulder.

"N-Naruto, please, give him time…" Hinata whispered softly, "O-Obviously he's confused…"

Naruto felt like he was going to bash Sasuke at the wall in a moment, however, he decided to let it go, "Tch. Whatever. Come on, Hinata, let's look deeper on who this Dante person is…"

"_Dante_?"

Both Naruto and Hinata turned around when Sasuke had said the name.

"What is it now, teme?" Naruto glared at him insensitively.

Sasuke gave them a small smirk and replied, "Dante. She's an old alchemist—must be the only one living in Konahagure…"

"You mean Dante's a woman and an alchemist!?" Naruto's eyes brightened, finding some information—but felt awkward when Sasuke was the one giving the information. However, he needed to meet this Dante-woman, after all.

"H-How do you know about her, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked.

"My father talked about her a lot when he was still alive," Sasuke explained calmly, "And once, he took me there to see her and I still remember where it might be."

"She was a woman who does not wish to see other people, however, the Third Hokage had allowed her to stay in the village's forests and that is where she lived the rest of her life. There's not much about her but she was just an alchemist… and wrote books like the one you have right there."

"Then take us there!" demanded the Uzumaki.

Sasuke looked angrily at him in the matter of seconds, "Why would I? You said you wanted me out of this situation and what's with the change of heart?"

"And what's with the change of heart with you 'suddenly caring' for Sakura-chan and your interest in all of this?!" Naruto bawled back at him coldly. "Besides, from what I've heard from Kakashi-sensei, you rejected her and called her things that would hurt her!!"

Immediately, Sasuke's black eyes widened with shock—remembering that moment when he had told Sakura those things and what Sakura had said to him…

* * *

"_**Fine, never see me again then."**_

* * *

"She said: Fine, never see me again then." Sasuke repeated, remembering that part.

Naruto grinded his teeth behind his mouth and just spoke softly, with a tint of anger, "Sasuke, show us where this Dante-lady is…"

The Uchiha boy snapped away from his recent memory and looked at Naruto with calm eyes, "And let me guess—you don't want me to tell anything of this to anyone, right?"

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and hesitantly nodded their heads.

Sasuke smirked, "Fine, I'll show you where she is but on our way there… tell me where is Sakura and why in the sudden interest of alchemy. Deal?"

"Deal you damn teme."

"And by the way," Sasuke spoke, "Why do you want to look for Dante?"

"Because…" Naruto said hoarsely, "…She's the one who made the Fullmetal Alchemist Book."

(A/N: I know this part with Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata seems a little bit rushed—but I might edit it sooner or later.)

* * *

Sakura stared back at Alphonse with her wide, green eyes when she had heard of the goal. She knew that Alphonse was a soul bound to a large armor, Naruto had already told her that. She also knew about the Human Transmutation occurrence and the lost limbs of Edward. However, to let down the suspicion, Sakura decided to pretend like she did not know about it at all. She didn't want the gentle Alphonse turning against her—unlike Edward, who seemed like he already hated her guts.

"To get your bodies…?" Sakura repeated, 'astonished'.

"Yes," Alphonse nodded, "But…what am I saying? I just known you for now and I'm telling you… wait! I'm not supposed to tell you anything like this!!"

Alphonse stood up from the ground and started to freak out, "Oh… Sakura, please don't be scared! I know it sounds all weird, telling this to a person I had just met and everything a-and…"

"Don't worry, Alphonse," Sakura grinned sweetly, "I already know that you have a soul bound in an armor. I felt no energy presence from you—you just felt utterly empty in there."

"P-Please don't tell teacher, Sakura!" Alphonse begged and Sakura blinked.

"You didn't tell Izumi about this?" She raised an eyebrow and then gasped silently, "A-Alphonse, you know how angry she'll be if she were to find out about this."

"I-I know." Alphonse stopped freaking out and then sat back down next to her, placing his legs together and hugging it, "I-I'm worried about how she'll react to us when she finds out. She had told us specifically that we must never use Human Transmutation on anyone. Period. And yet, my brother and I, with our selfish reasons, we just had to disobey her rules and did it anyways."

Frowning softly, Sakura placed a hand on Alphonse's armor. Alphonse flinched for a moment and turned to Sakura—her sudden touch instantaneously made Alphonse's worried mind clear out and all the worries and burdens he had were locked up. When Alphonse looked at Sakura's smile, it made him feel warm.

Sakura beamed at him, "Your in pain, Al, obviously. I know what you did was terribly wrong but you have to tell the truth to your teacher. Lying will only lead you to a deep abyss of despair and I know telling the truth is hard—but it's the right thing to do whether you like it or not." _I sound such a hypocrite… I've been lying a lot too…_

The pink-haired flower sighed and then looked up at the ceiling, "I had some share of lies too and it always made me end up in such a bad situation until I would finally spit out the truth that was hidden beneath my lips for all that time. And you know what it did? It made me feel better, like everything that was kept in my mind—had all gone away."

Soon, she turned to him and gave Alphonse a comforting smile, "That's why, either way, you and brother will have to tell the truth. I mean, your teacher had been worried about you all the time. She talks about you a lot and I've heard great stories from your trainings. It fascinates me how the both of you would work so hard and so strong… even after your burdens. I'm quite jealous actually. You have the determination to go through with all this."

When the young armored Elric look in Sakura's eyes, he could see that there was such innocence in her and such sweetness. _Brother doesn't know how to judge people right… if only he would have taken time… he'd grow to see what this girl really is… _However, when Alphonse looked at her eyes slowly, he saw a tint of mysteriousness and a tint of sadness written all over. There was something in Sakura that made him concern for her a little bit.

Replying to the comment she had made, Alphonse smiled inside the armor, "You don't have to be jealous, Sakura, its just that—me and my brother always put our goals as our first priority. Trust me, our adventures aren't really that simple. They're really hard and gut-wrenching that we don't know if we could make it alive or not."

Alphonse started to recall all the memories and then continued, "Brother, being the stubborn and independent guy he is, he 'accidentally' makes enemies during our travels, which is pretty hard. Everyday, he and I always had to watch our backs if anything comes. It worries us that one day, we'll have our guard down and then, and we get hurt."

"That's why he and I watch out for each other's back all the time," Alphonse elucidated, turning his armored head to her and his 'eyes' expressing happiness, "And soon, we might achieve that goal."

After listening to what Alphonse had to say, Sakura grew a little bit weary and nervous inside. Already, she didn't want Alphonse to get hurt. From what the voice said to her—he was suffering in soul and body rejection and it was her job to use, whatever the power she had inside of her, to destroy the chains of that rejection. Already, Alphonse was a nice and gentle boy bounded in a suit of armor that Sakura already seemed like an older sister to him.

"Alphonse…" Sakura spoke, her voice trailing off as her own hands shivered down her sides, "Thanks for telling me this—it made me respect you more than I could ever had thought of." The pink-haired kunoichi looked down at the floor, not knowing what else to say as Alphonse felt a little curious.

"Sakura…" He began, "… Where are you from really?"

Sakura cringed for a moment and then, she looked up at Alphonse, "A-Al I…"

**SLAM!**

The door slammed open when a blonde-haired and golden-eyed boy had interrupted them. Edward was standing at the doorway with his arms crossed and when was glaring at them, mostly Sakura though. He was a little bit surprised that Alphonse was talking to this… to this… pink-haired weirdo! Oh how he was going to lecture Alphonse on how to not talk to girls with unnatural pink-hair.

"B-Brother…" Alphonse trembled.

"Al, what are you doing?!" Edward shouted at him as he approached the armored boy and grabbed his large metal hand, "What did I tell you about talking to… _strangers_?!"

_Stranger?! Me?! Why I… _Sakura was already offended at that as she watched in—somewhat, horror, at how Edward was dragging Alphonse out of the room.

"B-Brother, please! She's not that bad!" Alphonse pleaded, trying to let go away from his brother's hard grip.

"Don't care." Edward said, without having a second thought, "I mean, come on Al, why would you want to talk to a girl with unnatural pink-hair!"

"UNNATURAL?!" Sakura stood up from the ground with a very fume filled face.

Edward turned around and cringed a bit from the sight of the angered Sakura. Alphonse was able to get away from his brother's grip and stepped away from the two.

Edward crossed his arms and jeered, "Well, PINK isn't a NATURAL color."

"This is so my natural hair!" Sakura argued back, "Unlike you, who has a very unnatural HEIGHT."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" The Fullmetal Alchemist stepped towards the Flower Kunoichi.

"I SAID YOU WERE SHORT BECAUSE YOU ARE!" Sakura also stepped towards him.

"ME?! SHORT?! I'M FREAKIN' TALLER THAN YOU!"

"WELL IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR 'LITTLE' BROTHER IS TALLER THAN YOU AND SO IS EVERYONE ELSE!"

"ARGH!! YOU SHUT YOU UNNATURAL PINK, BIG FOREHEAD-GIRL!!"

"…!" Sakura instantly became silent for a moment, her angered face dying down quickly. Her green eyes had widened though to Edward as Edward had noticed this. Soon, the angered face turned to a sheltered and soft face full of eminent sadness and a bit of cheerlessness. _So, it is true… even here… I'm still known as the forehead girl… _

She bowed her head down, letting her pink bangs cover her face as she spoke in a mumbled voice, "I see… I'm sorry…" And with that, she walked past Edward, without having to look at him and ignoring Alphonse's voice of calling her name.

While Sakura stepped out of the room, she bumped accidentally to Izumi, who looked at her with concern.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura?" She questions.

Sakura looked up at her, small tears coming out of her eyes and ran off. She wouldn't say that Edward had said something harshly to her for it would be rude, however, she had officially told herself, many times, that Edward was a complete jerk and she no longer wishes to help him in any way. She couldn't even try to start and believe that this—this immature freak would be the one she would be helping! She saw nothing in him that could lead her to believe on that point!

_I just want to go home… _Sakura thought to herself, tears streaming down her eyes as she ran to another room, not caring whom it was, slams the door shut and locks it. _I hate this… I hate you, Edward…!_

* * *

Izumi watches as Sakura goes into another room and literally shuts the door loudly and locks it. From the looks of it, Sakura seemed to have been offended and when she finally knew who it was, she turned to the nearest person that was in front of her.

Raising her large fist, she punched Edward Square in the face, sending him all the way to the other side of the room, "HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?!"

Edward's back battered against the wall's hardness as he felt a sprain. He then fell down on his ass as he let out a small yelp of pain. Alphonse was watching this but did nothing; he knew what was right for brother and it wasn't right of how his brother had offended Sakura. Alphonse soon just turned away and decided to leave the room.

The Alchemist of Dublith was obviously pissed now. She didn't know why Edward would treat Sakura like garbage when at first intuition, Sakura was being kind towards him. This made Izumi want to know as she approached Edward and kicked him across his chest, making Edward fall back onto the floor.

"Fool, stand up and explain yourself!" Izumi scolded. She didn't try to hit him that hard, she was only trying to discipline him like she always did. Oh, Izumi Curtis was angry all right—for her apprentice had hurt her new apprentice and if she doesn't do anything, the two will forever hate each other and blah, you get the point!

Edward struggled to stand as he felt the throbbing pain behind his back and at his chest. Luckily, the ribs and his back weren't broken. Finally, when he was on his feet, he straightened up, trying to rearrange his standing position.

Izumi crossed her arms, "Well? What is with this idiocy and rudeness you do to Sakura?! What has she ever done to you?!"

"…"

"Well?! What did she do? You two had just met today and all you do is go around, hurting her and offending her!"

"…I…"

"Say it now, fool, before I literally break you."

"I… just don't want her to be one of the people getting involved," Edward explained, his voice trailing off. Damn, his back and chest hurt. "There had been many people that we had met during our travels and—some of them get killed because of us and… I don't want her to be the one to get hurt. That's why I push her back—so she wouldn't know who I truly am."

Then he smiled cynically, "Besides, a girl with pink-hair like her… she wouldn't understand. I don't think I would trust her enough to tell her anything or befriend her. Either way, she'd get hurt and I know how much you care, Teacher."

BAM! A full-blown fist came across Edward's face again as he was hit against his cheek, causing blood to come out from his lips. Izumi didn't dare say any more but instead, pointed to the porch outside the house, meaning: '_Get your ass over there and sit_.'

"But… Teacher… really…"

"Just go over there, Edward, I had enough of you, especially when we just met." Izumi placed a hand over her face, trying to maintain her infuriation, "Please."

Edward sighed deeply and bowed his head, ignoring his bleeding lip and the bruises that were around his face. He opened the door and went out to the porch and sat down.

Sighing, Izumi closed her eyes and sat on the couch. She was beginning to have a migraine while Alphonse sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

* * *

_"I… just don't want her to be one of the people getting involved. There had been many people that we had met during our travels and—some of them get killed because of us and… I don't want her to be the one to get hurt. That's why I push her back—so she wouldn't know who I truly am."_

"_Besides, a girl with pink-hair like her… she wouldn't understand. I don't think I would trust her enough to tell her anything or befriend her. Either way, she'd get hurt and I know how much you care, Teacher."_

After Sakura had listened to this—she didn't hear that Edward that was stubborn and a complete arrogant alchemist but instead, she had heard the soft and vulnerable side of him. Her green-eyes widening, she had remembered what Alphonse had told her… about Edward being not all the mean and instead, he was really a kind boy.

"He just didn't want me hurt…?" Sakura whispered in question. _That's right, they've been through a lot that some people, who get involved in their situation of bringing their bodies back, die in the hands of their enemies…_

The pink-haired kunoichi could compare this to the experiences she had as a Genin. She always needed to protect the people she escorts because sooner or later, they will die. But Edward's situation was for more distorted and darker than hers. She soon realizes that she'll have to accept that, however, she still needed a task to do.

She had to help Edward in order to get back home.

She didn't care about the consequences.

_I guess I'll have to be nicer… _Sakura thought and then opened the door gently to see Izumi sitting down on the couch while Alphonse was comforting her.

As soon as she stepped outside, Izumi saw Sakura and was about to stand up but Alphonse only stopped her. Sakura smiled a bit to her, signaling she was all right. The kunoichi then went to the kitchen and went to the drawer where the medicine kit would be. She gently held it in her arms and proceeded out the door.

At the front porch, she sees Edward sitting on the stairs with his head lying on top of his hands. His body posture already expressed a state of frustration, anger, and confusion. Sakura, nonetheless, smiled softly at him and then approached him with subtle steps. However, Edward had heard her coming closer.

"What do you want?" He scoffed at her.

Sakura didn't want to argue and instead, she replied with a quiet voice, "May I sit?"

The first thing that popped into Edward's mind was: '_Hell no, you got me bashed up too many times. Get the hell out of here, you damn pinky_.' However, somehow, the words that came out from his lips were the opposite than he had expected.

"Fine…" The blonde alchemist groaned and scooted over so she would have enough room to sit down. Sakura giggled silently when Edward had groaned and then sat next to him. She found it very amusing.

(**A/N**: I was listening to a play list of instrumental songs, which was on shuffle, and somehow, Sakura's Theme came on right after 'Nothing I Won't Give' the song that Vic Mignogna sang, in tribute to the Elric Brothers, creepy huh? XD)

Placing the medical kit on the lap, Sakura opened it and tried to find the proper things she needed. Edward noticed that she was getting something and watched her with his intense golden-eyes.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, frustration tinted on his voice.

"Stay still." Sakura quickly took out a cotton ball and ointment. She dabbed the cotton at the ointment and started to place it on the bruise Edward was forming on his cheek. Edward was shocked at this and shifted away from the girl.

"WHAT THE **HELL** ARE YOU DOING NOW?!" He screamed at her.

Sakura's calmness disappeared and an 'anger mark' appeared on her head, "I'm trying to fix your bruise now come here and stay still!"

The Fullmetal Alchemist sighed under his breath and without having to argue back, he moved his position closer for her to start fixing the bruise that his teacher inflicted upon his cheek. Sakura huffed at him and smiled right after that. She started to dab the cotton on the bruise.

"Ouch… ouch… OUCH!!" Edward shouted, gritting his teeth from the soreness.

"Was I pressing it too much?" Sakura questioned, "Here, I'll try to be a little bit more gentle, okay?"

And so she did, softly placing the cotton on his cheek and Edward actually didn't feel any pain. He felt the cheek relieved and the bruise felt like it was washing away from his skin. His golden eyes shifted to Sakura, who was trying to be as careful as she said she would. He watched as her eyes would narrow to check what she was doing was right and trying to avoid him from screaming in pain.

Somehow, just watching her, made Edward smiled—just a little bit; he didn't want her to see that he was actually getting a little comfortable with her presence.

Then, a question came out from his lips, "Why are you doing this? I was being rude and ignorant to you and your healing my bruise, what is up with that?"

Sakura finished with his bruise and then turned to him, a cute but serious expression came upon her face, "Your brother told me you weren't a mean person and you only do that because you want people to not get involved with you… besides, its not your fault that you guys had been through a lot and your just the kind of stubborn guy to want to be independent."

"I AM NOT STUBBORN!" Edward yelled but then winced in pain when he noticed his lip hurt too. "Agh…"

The pink-haired Haruno noticed that the lip was bleeding badly. She bit her lip; Izumi had really hit him hard. She then turned to the medicine kit again and got a small cloth. Putting a few drops of ointment on the cloth, she then placed it gently on Edward's lips.

"Here…" Sakura whispered to him softly, wiping the blood and trying to recover the wound, "Your lips' bashed up pretty hard…"

"Yeah but I'm used to it," Edward spoke as softly as Sakura. He watched her intently while she tried to wipe away the crimson liquid. The alchemist noticed something about her that he hadn't seen before—something that was nagging him about her. He noticed she was kind, gentle, and sweet. At first, he thought she would be obnoxious and reckless because of the way she looked but she… she was almost like a beautiful flower.

_Tch, yeah right, pink-hair, like that would be a flower… _Edward denied his thoughts, closing his eyes and trying not to look at her.

Sakura concentrated on the small scar on Edward's lips. She didn't know that their teacher would be that harsh on them but she knew, what Izumi was doing was for discipline and she agreed that Edward needed it. Dabbing the cloth and trying to check if there would still be bleeding, Sakura couldn't help stare at Edward's lips…

Even if Alphonse had said they've been through many treacherous journeys, she wondered how lips like Edward's, would withstand dirtiness and everything. Edward's lips felt soft, looked healthy red, and very… kissable. It was as if it was tempting Sakura to get a little closer and just…

_Gah! Clean the wound Sakura… clean the wound… _She thought hastily and finished it up, "There you go! It's all done."

Shifting—_away_ from him, Sakura watched as Edward moved his lips a few times. She tried to see if it was okay and it won't reopen anytime sooner.

"It doesn't hurt anymore…" commented Edward and grinned—the toothy one, "Thanks Sakura… right?"

"Yes, Sakura is my name," She nodded and turned to look out of the front porch, enjoying any view that was there. It was a simple yard with a few flowers around it and a fashionable gate. There were some carriages passing by and kids playing. Sakura smiled at this—even this world had many innocent things. _Somehow, it reminds me of Konohagure…_

Edward watched as Sakura gazed at the scenery upon her. He raised an eyebrow but the sighed, watching the scenery as well. The two of them sat there for a while… not knowing what to say to one another.

"So, you don't want me hurt…?" Sakura spoke out of nowhere as Edward's head shot up.

He then turned to Sakura, "I…"

"We just known each other today," Sakura continued, looking at him with emerald-green eyes, "Why would you know already that I'd get hurt?"

Edward was about to say something until the words inside of his mouth started to tangle with each other—that he was lost in his own words. Instead, he turned his head away from her and just stared at the ground, trying to contemplate at the right words to say. Sakura watched him do that and smiled; she'll give him time to straighten the words.

"I just…" Edward began with a hoarse voice, "In our journeys—Al and I meet very interesting people who were kind and encourage us to keep going… but… while they do… there would be someone who were against us, enemies, like they all say and they'd end up killing the people, who were innocent and only trying to help us through our path."

"They were people that we cared for and they were people who's lives should have been longer—and, seeing us…" Edward cringed and closed his eyes, letting his bangs fall upon his face, "And… it feels like it was our fault… our fault that we led the enemies there and destroy the ones who should have never been destroyed. They should have never been—they never deserved that kind of death."

She frowned, noticing that Edward was in pain, obviously. She knew at how the story went—at how the brothers suffered from the loss of their mother, committing Human Transmutation, and loosing their bodies and in their journeys, they always had people after them because of their remarkable alchemic abilities. Sakura knew the whole story, however, she didn't know how the story or plot would go.

She just hoped that the brothers—would at least achieve their goal and get the happy ending they always wanted.

"Ed…" Sakura began, placing a hand on his shoulder and indicating Edward to look at her, "At least the people who had died did something to make you keep going. They encouraged you to never look back and keep looking forward. Never back down on your goal and your words, that was what a good friend of mine told me and now I'm telling it to you. Keep going, Ed, do it—for you and your brother's sake at whatever you guys are trying to achieve."

She then grinned at him, sweetly and cheerfully, "_You have to accept that people are going to stay in your heart_… _even if they are out of your life_, Ed."

Edward's eyes widened at Sakura's words—the words she had said was the one he always say to people when they all felt that hope was lost. "S-Sakura…"

Inside the Curtis home, Alphonse, Sig, Izumi, and a joyfully crying Mason watched from the window. Izumi was crossing her arms and smiling, oblivious to the tear slipping down at her eye. What Sakura had said made all the weight she was feeling, falling off from her shoulders. Somehow, even if Sakura was just a young girl, her words can stir people…

For Alphonse, he was smiling inside. _Brother, can you finally see it…? Can you see that she isn't just… some girl…?_

Edward fell dead silent for a moment and bowed his head, letting the bangs cover his face. From Sakura's point of view, it looked like Edward was pretty angry about something, however, Edward was only trying to stop the sadness that was erupting. Edward wasn't the one to cry nor he wasn't the one to keep sadness from stopping him but what Sakura had said—made his emotions run wild.

Finally he looked up at her and smiled widely, "Thank you… Sakura."

Sakura blinked for a moment and smiled back, "No problem, Edward-_kun_."

* * *

"_**She committed a mistake."**_

"_**She is not allowed to meet him… Meet the Fullmetal Alchemist."**_

_**"Now won't this be fun?"**_

* * *

**A/N: **

**I finally found a way to include anime-verse characters! Go me! Yes, that is THE Dante from the anime—old version though, not the one where she is with Lyra and everything. She's that grumpy and creepy old lady and stuff… I believed I rushed a bit on Naruto's part but I want them to get to the point and everything—and I managed to get Sasuke involved because he was such a cool character and I'm planning something for him in the near future of the story!**

**So, Edward and Sakura had finally meet after six, long, never-ending chapters huh? I know you guys would expect Sakura and Edward getting along with each other by first impression (A doi, the chapter name is 'First Impressions') but **_**no**_**—since they are both stubborn-headed characters, they didn't get along. But in the end… they did anyway! With some little something, something in there –winks–.**

**Now, let's go to the replies for the reviews so I can wrap up this Author's Note thing…**

**KunoichiruleALL: **XD. Yeah, take them back. Hiromu Arakawa (their author) might be looking for them and I am too! They still need to be starred in my wonderful story! Thanks for the review and yes, there is a reason why Sakura's chakra is not working and it's not the fact that she is in the World of Alchemy.

**The-Living-Shadow: **Yes—Sakura spitting out blood like Izumi… just creeps me out when I was writing that. XD. Now, now, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves about Naruto and Hinata coming to the Fullmetal Alchemist World, what if they don't come and never retrieve Sakura? Doesn't that make you think? And if he does come—here's a little spoiler, his chakra won't disappear and it would work, it is only Sakura, who's chakra had disappeared and had weakened—it makes you think why doesn't it? Now the part that Naruto turning into a Homunculus? Hm, I'll think about that but Naruto has a greater position in the story and so does Hinata. (Yes, Envy will be pissed XD)

And Sakura being paired up with someone? I think she has already developed feelings for someone… hm, I wonder who could that be? Give you a hint: He's a shrimp that's actually four inches taller than her XD.

**YourFavouitePlushie: **This is what resulted when they had met… pure arguing but getting along in the end…

**Synneofthesun: **Hoping something big would happen? XD Nope, all they did is just erupt into argument with Alphonse being embarrassed and Izumi bashing Edward's head off like crazy. I can't blame Edward for having such a rude and loud-mouth but we still love him. Lol. Oh and this is how 'soon' is soon! I just posted the chapter! Yeah, I've noticed some grammar mistakes and tried checking it, but not sure if I had edited it right …

**c o o k i e - p l u s h:** Yes, the plot thickens! –cheers- Aw, thank you, I never noticed my writing style would be good but thanks! I still need to work on it better and I am still in need of a Beta you know? I am a Beta myself but I only check one story, that's it. You haven't read the manga yet? Well… you better… there'll be many shocking things here!

**healing alchemist: **They were never meant to meet but Sakura was able to break that somehow, wonder why? And no, Hohenheim isn't related to Sakura in any way, her father is a key point of this story but—she was shock about something else in their conversation when she was listening. And then BAM! She fell right out!

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha: **That is why it was AWKWARD Allie! God, don't you pay attention to the stories? XD Just kidding, I love you my friend. Ew, that sounded weird, but anyways, yes, Sakura's father is a key point to this story but I am not telling you any more than that! Oh, and Sasuke is in the story! Don't you like that?

That's All for the reviews! Thanks for also reviewing—:

**Sakura Angel 4eva, xXHitsuxSakuXx**

**Please support me by writing knowledgeable reviews and telling me what you like about it so I can at least continue! And when you add my story as a favorite or alert, you have to review on why, so I can continue giving more chapters as fast as I can!**


	9. Chapter 9: Tracing A Memory

**A/N: -looks at the reviews- Wow, thanks for all the constructive criticisms and everything! I really appreciate it guys that I just had to post this chapter up for you all to see. I am still in need of a Beta. I already asked someone but I don't think they got the message at all! **

**If you're wondering, since Sakura is in the graphic novel, everything is following the plot line except with her in it. Most of the stuff and dialogue here are from the original Manga.**

**Please review, include constructive criticism but no flames. That way, I can continue the story and make it as much better as I can!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto. However, the plot line is mine.

* * *

_**Chapter Nine—Tracing A Memory**_

* * *

"_It's the work of the devil…  
And it can only lead you straight to hell."_  
—_**Tim Marcoh, Fullmetal Alchemist**_

* * *

"_I told you time and time again to stay away from human transmutation." Izumi Curtis sighed as she looked up at the ceiling while the Elric Brothers, Edward and Alphonse, sat quietly in front of her. They had just told them the story of why Alphonse was bound to a suit of armor and Edward having metal limbs. It upsets Izumi, her as a teacher, who had warned the Elrics of the many consequences of a taboo. And now that she had heard this cynical-like story about transmuting their mother back to life, it makes her feel like she didn't do enough as a teacher._

_As for Edward and Alphonse, both of them were ashamed of what they did. They knew they had upset their teacher badly and they had disobeyed her rules. But, they were just naïve children back then, in need of a mother or a parental guardian to take care of them. Sure, there was Pinako and their childhood friend, Winry Rockbell, but it didn't it feel like it was—at peace with them. They had loved their mother dearly and were willing to grasp everything to see their mother's smiling face again._

_Izumi shook her head, "So the student makes the same mistake as the teacher…" She knew, sooner or later, she also would have to tell them why she coughed up blood so much and why she was always sickly. Izumi hated keeping secrets and she felt like a hypocrite to them._

_Edward's head shot up and felt slightly nervous when he asked, "Wait… teacher, you also?"_

_Izumi sat silent for a moment and her husband, Sig, was looking at her staidly. He, too, had known about this but he vowed to Izumi never to tell—it was just too much for them to bear._

_The Alchemist of Dublith slowly shifted her hand out and placed it at the part of her stomach, "They took… some of my insides."_

_Her eyes narrowed and closed for a moment, the memories overwhelming her thoughts as the Elrics just stared there in shock, not knowing what to say to their dear teacher._

_Meanwhile, from inside a dark-like bedroom, a pink-haired girl named Sakura Haruno, watched them from a small crack of the door, listening intently. She knew it was common courtesy to not be present in a serious conversation and NOT to EAVESDROP too, however, she was worried of Izumi, Edward, and Alphonse. She also stood there to hear the whole story of the Elric Brothers and the hardships they had went through. She bit her lip and sighed._

'_They've been through too much—just like Sasuke and Naruto,' Sakura thought and looked worriedly at them._

_Finally, Sakura jumped up when she heard Izumi's strong and fierce voice, "You guys are really the biggest fools."_

_Edward and Alphonse stirred, frowning from their burdens, "We're sorry…"_

"_**Morons!"**_

"_We're so sorry."_

"_**Fools!"**_

"_Yes, ma'am."_

"_**Numbskulls!"**_

"_You're right."_

"_**RUNT!"**_

"… _Yes, ma'am."_

_Sakura shivered also—seeing as how Izumi was such a strict figure to them. She couldn't even believe how the brothers even put up with her in such a long time. Soon, she heard Izumi's voice again, this time, not so fierce and more… motherly._

"_It must have been tough…" She whispered, which made Edward look up to actually see such a soft face spread around his teacher's face._

_He shook his head, "No… we brought it on ourselves… So I guess we kind of got what we deserved, right Alphonse?"_

"_Right," Alphonse had nodded._

_Izumi stood up from her chair and suddenly placed a hand on Alphonse's armored shoulder, "You fools."_

_Soon, she also placed a hand on Edward's shoulder and then, it formed into an embrace. Bowing her head on them, she frowned and hugged them tightly, like a mother should always do to a child. Edward and Alphonse were shocked for a moment._

_As she embraced them, she spoke in a soft and weak voice, "You don't have to hold it back."_

_Edward's eyes widened when he had heard of what his strict teacher had said and soon, he finally understood. The pain, the burdens, and the heavy weight on their shoulders—Izumi also had. He had noticed how much they are alike, seeing that his teacher had something very dear taken away from her, causing her to cough up blood from her lips every now and then. He had felt her pain as she had felt his that Edward trembled, his eyes slowly closing._

_As for Alphonse, he felt the same way too and even if his armored face was expressionless—there was still something in there that everyone could see. Alphonse was still a little boy, naïve about the world changing around him yet he knows what is wrong from what is right. He cared for his teacher and when he had heard that she had suffered the way they did, he couldn't help but blame himself for making such a mistake._

"_I'm sorry," Edward and Alphonse said at the same time, clutching tightly to their teacher._

_Izumi smiled. She had loved her two students dearly and didn't want them to ever encounter such a thing like that ever again. She hoped that the two would finally accomplish what they were looking for and maybe, she would have a peaceful life again. She hoped and dared to dream, even if alchemists such as her wouldn't go as far as that._

_Sakura had smiled while watching them that it felt like she could open the door wider now. Her emerald-green eyes watched them, seeing how they are still able to stay strong. She wondered, could she ever stay strong if she was in a situation like that? Sure, there were her ninja missions, however, this was a life-changing experience—a bad one for that matter and Sakura had never imagined herself actually going through a predicament like that._

'_At least,' She thought, 'they are able to go through something that harsh…'_

_However, inside her mind, she wondered… The predicament of being in a graphic novel and a world away from her home… would she able to go through this? Would she have the true potential to help Edward and Alphonse? She didn't know._

_She believed… she could do it like she always did._

* * *

Izumi remembered that day—when the Elric Brothers had finally showed their true history that was lying behind their shoulders. Honestly, after she had heard it, she was mad yet… there was something inside her, nagging her, that she really needed to help them. Ever since they were her child apprentices, she was like a mother to them and developed and instinct as a motherly figure to them—and she was willing to use it.

She had expelled them at first and told them to leave, however, being the reluctant Elric Brothers, they didn't give up and they gave her that face again—the face with sheer determination and the power to depend on her. And of course, having a soft side in her personality, she couldn't just abandon them and her motherly ways had been kicking in as usual. So, she re-accepted them as her apprentices and she wanted to do whatever she can to help the brothers achieve their goals.

_As for Sakura… _Izumi thought, remembering the other pink-haired apprentice she had accepted—or more like 'forced' to be her apprentice, _I wonder what's her history. All that she had ever told me was that she was from Central and is part of a family named the Hughes. However, there is something more to her that I just don't understand. _

She still remembered that day when Sakura had came home, hurt and being carried by Mason. Mason had told her that she had done a hand sign that was not associated with alchemy and he had also told her that she had lost energy quickly and started to cough up blood. _What's more—her blood doesn't even look like it's a blood of a human being. It's a thicker substance with an odd crimson color. _As an alchemist, Izumi had to study the insides, outsides, and practically the anatomy of the Human body and…

"Here's your usual prescription, Mrs. Curtis," A doctor told her, handing the small bottle with pills in it.

Izumi snapped away from her thoughts when she had noticed her doctor holding out the pills. "Thank you very much."

Izumi was at her daily visit to the doctor to see if there was anything else wrong with her insides. The doctor had told her that everything was still the same and she should rest a little more and not to strain herself like always. And Izumi always countered that she doesn't strain herself—she just couldn't keep herself still. _Seeing that my foolish apprentices are around. _Izumi thought and scoffed. She then remembered something.

"Doctor… I wanted to ask you something," Izumi spoke, "Do you know much about amnesia?"

The doctor scratched his chin, "Amnesia? It's not my area of expertise. Why do you ask?"

The Curtis female remembered the part where one of her apprentices, Alphonse, said he did not remember anything about the 'Truth'. Edward had said that he considered Alphonse getting the closest to the truth and everything and no matter how much they asked him, he still could not remembered.

* * *

"_Al… when you were transmuted, didn't you see the Truth?" Izumi asked, placing her arms on her hips. She had just re-accepted the Elric Brothers as her apprentice again and it was now her new priority to help them achieve their goal and getting their bodies back. _

"_Uh…" Alphonse tapped his large armored head, "I have no idea what this 'truth' you're talking about is…"_

_Edward glanced back and forth, watching both his younger brother and his teacher in their engrossed conversation about the truth. Unlike Alphonse, Edward remembered the truth all too clearly. He remembered its malicious smirk and the way it speaks of knowledge at the same time. Edward could agree—to some extent—that the Truth had the right to take his limbs when he did the Human Transmutation and everything… but he believed it was unfair at the same time. _

_He pondered and scratched his cheek, trying to understand why Alphonse could not remember a thing when Alphonse was the closest thing to grasping it…_

_Izumi rubbed her head for a moment and replied, "Hm… maybe the shock made you lose your memory."_

"_We have to get Al's memory back." She continued, looking at them with a calm and serious look in her dark eyes, "After all, his entire body was taken. Think what he might have experienced all this time, Edward."_

"_I get it!" Edward shouted, grabbing the situation and rearranging it in order in his head, "That guy talked about paying the 'toll'! I just paid my arm and leg… but with what Al paid, his whole body, then it really does make sense he was closest to the truth!"_

_Alphonse felt like his spirit brightened and he immediately said with an excited voice, "So if I can remember what happened, we'll have the answer!"_

_But, Izumi shuddered, "But the memory of that thing…"_

_Edward also trembled, nodding his head, "Yeah… __**that thing**__."_

"_Huh…" Alphonse was confused, "What thing? Is it that bad…?"_

"_No, no!" Izumi said, waving her hands to show emphasis of what she was going to describe, "It's not bad—more like weird."_

"_Yeah, really weird." Edward agreed._

"… _That's too abstract—I don't get it!" Alphonse sighed inside and clenched his hands together, "… But still… if there's a chance it might help… __**I want to try it**__!"_

* * *

"A friend of mine…" Izumi began, replying to the doctor's question of amnesia, "… Had lost a small portion of his memory. I was hoping there was some way I could help him."

The doctor crossed his arms and thought for a moment—until he got the idea, "The most well-known method is to use hypnosis to retrace a person's memories back to the subconscious."

Izumi's eyes slightly widened, "I see…"

"I've also heard," The doctor continued his explanation, "…That a strong shock can make old memories resurface."

"A strong shock huh?" Izumi wondered. _I guess I could try __**bashing his head**__ in when I get home. _

The Curtis Alchemist stood up and grabbed her coat as she bowed, "Thank you, doctor. Please excuse me."

The doctor blinked, "By the way… you're looking healthier lately, Izumi."

"Huh?" Izumi looked over him, befuddled, "You sure?"

"You must be getting more rest," He smiled at her.

Izumi chuckled, "Not at all…"

She then snorted humorously, "Ever since my family got bigger, I haven't had a moment's peace!"

* * *

"_**I'll follow my own nindo… my ninja way!"**_

"_**I'm Uchiha Sasuke—I'm not like everyone else!"**_

"_**Teamwork. That is the key of a True Shinobi."**_

_Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun… Kakashi-sensei…_

Sakura stared out the window that day… It had been four to five days since she had been part of the graphic novel's adventure. She was sort of the character now—but she didn't know what position she was in at all. She didn't know what her purpose, other than helping the Elric Brothers with their goal or something like that. What's more, she didn't know what the "power" inside her is when her jutsu and chakra kept failing on her!

_This is stupid—how can I help when I'm totally useless right now? _Sakura groaned and placed her head and leaned it on her hand. She began to daydream of Konohagure—the experiences, her teammates, and everything in between. She truly had missed them and she would do anything, anything to just—go home!

Though somehow… she felt like she was attached here for some reason…

"You seem quiet, Sakura," A small voice said, breaking Sakura's current daydreams.

"Alphonse?" Sakura turned around to see the large armor. Alphonse nodded and approached her.

"Sorry if I bothered you in any way," The armored boy said with a meek and nervous voice. Sakura only smiled.

"Its alright," She nodded her head in approval, "I was looking outside for a little bit. What do you need?"

"I… nothing, just checking up on you," Alphonse stood next to her, watching the scenery outside as well, "Teacher just got home from the doctor and she and brother are weight-lifting right now. I weight-lifted too but I got a little bored and wondered what you're up to."

"I see, well that's nice of you, Al." Sakura smiled up at him. _He's such a little brother material, but… he's older than me._

Alphonse then spoke, starting a leisure conversation, "So, Sakura, do you know how to spar?"

The pink-haired girl shot her head up and looked at the armored boy, "Yes, a little—not really good at it." _Hell yeah I am, wait till I kick you and then you'll see how good I am! _The Inner Sakura burst from inside of her and Sakura became a little too prideful of her fighting skills.

"Well, do you want to practice since you have nothing to do but stare outside the window?" Alphonse chuckled.

Sakura smirked, "Okay then."

Then, the two of them went to their teacher's practice room where they saw Edward lifting weights and Izumi practicing her kicking and leg skills at a wooden pole nearby. Sakura looked around the room. She had never been here before, even if she stayed in Izumi's house for a while. It looked like one of the training rooms back in the academy. _Wow, this place is huge. _There were weights at the corner, various weapons for use, such as a staff and everything. There were a lot of things to look at.

Edward stopped his weight lifting for a moment to see Alphonse and Sakura enter the room, "Hey."

Instead of his usual outfit, which included a long red coat, long black sweater, and black pants, Edward was wearing a black muscle shirt, white sport shorts, and his hair was tied up into a ponytail instead of his trademark braid.

"Hey, brother."

"Hi, Ed-kun."

Edward placed the large weight lifter-thing at the corner with the others and ran to them, "Al, I thought you got bored with practicing, what brought you back here?"

"I'm going to spar with him!" Sakura answered Edward instead. Edward lifted up an eyebrow.

"Really?" He laughed bitterly and teasingly, "Like you'll win. Alphonse is pretty good than your small shape, Sakura."

**WHAM!**

"Edward…" Izumi groaned.

"S-Sorry, Teacher." Edward bowed, a bump forming on his head after Izumi had hit him—hard.

Sakura and Alphonse just laughed and finally, they became serious. The two of them got to a large area in the practice room where they can spar and the two of them did a fighting stance. Sakura hoped that her chakra would not fail on her like it always did and besides, Taijutsu needed small amounts of chakra in usual sparring—so it wouldn't be that bad right?

_Yeah… it won't be that bad… _Sakura thought nervously and shouted, "Ready, Alphonse?!"

"Ready!" Alphonse said, "But with rules—no weapons or anything to cheat. Got it?"

"Got it!"

The two began. Alphonse was the first to strike with one of his fist ready to punch the pretty face of the pink-haired kunoichi, who stood there, as if waiting to get hit. She smiled cutely at him as Alphonse ran harder and then, struck her. _Gotcha! _Alphonse thought, proudly but then, he felt his fist hit nothing but the air and when he realized it, Sakura was right next to his fist, meaning, Alphonse had missed!

Sakura giggled as if to mock him. She then smiled and grabbed his fist and with a strong force, she flipped him all the way around, like Izumi had done. Alphonse's 'eyes' widened with shock, never realizing Sakura would actually lift someone like him and with such precise angle too. Sadly, Alphonse fell to the ground while Sakura stomped her foot on him.

She waved, "Hi, Al!"

"Darn…" Alphonse muttered in defeat, however, he won't give up just yet! He won't let himself get beaten by a girl! _We'll see who's the winner!_

As for Edward and Izumi, who were watching the whole sparring match, they were both impressed and shocked. Edward, who had been carefully examining Sakura's moves, saw that it was none of the typical martial arts that his teacher taught them when they were little. The style Edward saw had various and elegant styles veiled into them and he could not distinguish what it was. For Izumi, she, too, did not know what kind of fighting style Sakura had. She was impressed and fascinated of how Sakura's speed was when she had dodged Alphonse's fist in the nick of time.

Back to the fight, Sakura felt Alphonse moving under her foot that she immediately back flipped away from him and then, when her feet hit the wall, she jumped from it, doing another flip, and then stood up straight, fighting stance position. Alphonse had fully stood up and was in fighting stance position also.

"You're good, Sakura!" Alphonse said, smiling inside yet he felt like he needed to win this.

"You're not as half bad yourself." Sakura bowed for a moment and then she was ready to fight.

"Your turn to strike." Alphonse told her and Sakura nods.

"Gladly." She giggled again and then ran towards the armored boy. At first, she wanted him to think she was aiming for his armored chest, however, she was aiming for his armored head. Alphonse fell right into the trap and blocked his chest first and then—BAM! Sakura targeted his armored head, kicking it away from him. Alphonse screamed frantically, trying to find his head. This had caught him off guard, or so what Sakura thought, when she was running to him and was ready to take him down!

"Not so fast!" The younger Elric grabbed Sakura's arm and—trying not to break any bones in the process—flipped her over, like she did to him, and threw her over the other side of the room. Sakura gasped, closed her eyes, and fell against her butt on the ground. Ouch, did it hurt the kunoichi!

_Argh…!! __**SHANNARO**__!! __**NO ONE MAKES MY BEHIND HURT! **_Her inner energy, also known as the Inner Sakura, rekindled inside of her. Ever since after the Chuunin Exams, her Inner Sakura no longer appeared inside of her because it proves that Sakura had already matured from it and was ready to say anything that was in her mind instead of Inner Sakura yelling it inside of her.

But now, someone had activated it and boy, was she mad. With quick force, she was already up on her feet and was dashing towards him, her Inner energy flowing through her veins. Alphonse already got his armored head and placed it on his head when he had noticed Sakura was up and ready to beat him to a pulp. Alphonse's 'eyes' broadened as Sakura high-kicked him! Alphonse, luckily, blocked it with his metal arm, however, Sakura's other foot shot up and kicked Alphonse's legs at the bottom, causing him to trip.

Finally, she crouched them for a moment and bashed Alphonse to the wall, letting him roll over to the floor.

She stood up with determination and placed her hands on her hips, "That was for making my butt hurt Alphonse!" Sakura shouted. _**Chya-aah!! I won! I won!**_

Alphonse sighed inside his armor—a girl had beaten him! Can things get more mortifying than this… oh, had he been losing lately.

Izumi clapped, "Wow, Sakura, I never seen you fight. Where did you learn it?"

Sakura blinked. She can't tell Izumi she was trained like this since she was little and in a Ninja Academy and instead, she replied, scratching her head apprehensively in the process, "W-Well, taught myself and stretched a lot, ahahaa…"

Edward raised an eyebrow in suspicion and he walked up to her and grabbed her arm, tightly. Sakura's eyes tensed and then turned to see the blonde alchemist behind her with a straightforward face, as if looking through her. _O-Oh crap—does he know…? Does he know that I'm lying! Ah, Sakura, get a grip!_

"I'm going to fight you next," Edward smirked, showing his gritting teeth, "No one punches or bashes my brother like that except me or some other dumbass that would be willing to do that!"

"So are you calling me… a-a d-dumb A?" Sakura stuttered, staring at him but then, she shook her head and concentrated, "Ha! I'll beat you easy!"

"We'll see about that!" The Fullmetal Alchemist ran to her, grabbed her waist, and whirled her around to the other side of the room. Sakura didn't even notice this and was already flying to the other side…

_What?! Why's my face red?! _Sakura was blushing somehow—maybe it was the part where Edward had grabbed her waist like that? _GAH! CONCENTRATE SAKU! _However, her concentration wasn't enough that she had hit her back against the wall, though, it wasn't hard as she expected it. She assumed that Edward was being easy on her.

"Don't be easy on me!" Sakura shouted at him, grinding her teeth together.

Edward grinned teasingly, "Okay, sure, why not?"

Okay, that was pissing her off now as Sakura clenched her fists and started to scurry towards him with fast steps and intricate movement of her feet. The pink-haired ninja was ticked off, all right, and she couldn't stand the fact of her being hit hard like that, especially—Edward! Ready to hit him on the cheek, Sakura shifted her fist and let out a loud scream.

Soon that loud scream only turned to a yelp when Edward caught her fist with his bare left hand and gripped on it tightly, causing her knuckles to be squished in together, hurting in the process. Sakura gasped as she tried to release it from his grasp and Edward only smirked, twirling her around again, and throwing her to the floor—painfully. Sakura fell on her butt… again.

_Geez, he's good… _Sakura rubbed her throbbing butt and stood up weakly, somehow, her energy was draining again. _This isn't right… _But then again, her anger was overwhelming inside of her as Sakura screamed, her fist was coming towards Edward again, however, Edward dodged it and Sakura lifted her foot to swing it across him—but then, without any luck, her foot kicked the shield of his metal arm.

Sakura didn't want to give up! She just didn't want to be the weak, useless one again! So, when she tried assailing on Edward, she had finally hit him on the stomach, causing Edward to back up slightly.

"That'll teach you!" Sakura smiled deviously.

Edward held his stomach for a while and he spoke out weakly, "Really? Is that what you got?"

"Nope, but I can show you some more!" Sakura yelled, ready to strike at him again, only to be stopped when Edward clapped his hands and placed it on his metal one, causing it to transform into a metal-arm sword.

Sakura gasped a little, slowing her pace a bit when Edward's left hand shot at her, grabbing Sakura by the arm and whirling her, causing her body position to face him by the back. The pink-haired kunoichi felt her back on his chest as Edward lifted up the metal-sword of an arm and placed the blade on her neck, pressing it gently.

Izumi and Alphonse were watching and they were astonished. Edward was going to slice Sakura off!

As for Sakura, she stood there frozen, unable to do anything. She remembered, the time, back in the Forest of Death, were both of her teammates were down and Rock Lee, who was protecting her, was down also. She was all alone, not knowing what to do when one of the opponents that were attacking them, a girl by the name of Kin, grabbed her hair. She felt helpless and trapped. Most of all, terrified.

But this time, it wasn't her long pink hair that was trapped—it was every single thing in her body, especially the neck. She trembled.

Edward whispered to her ear, his warm breath hitting her neck, "Never let yourself insult an enemy, they'll only get angrier and angrier. What's more, you don't know when to get serious, understand, pinky?"

"D-don't call me P-Pinky!" Sakura shouted, his whisper sending her shivers down her spine—and most of all, causing her face to be red. "A-And you cheated…!"

Edward smirked but then, laughed and took away the blade away from her neck, "You're so easy! You should've seen the look on your face!!" He started to laugh uncontrollably and slamming his hand at his neck. For Edward's perspective, threatening someone was so entertaining.

(**A/N:** I'm sorry if I'm not good at describing fighting or sparring skills. This was a huge practice for me, tell me what you think!)

Sakura turned to him, clenched fist and a furious face. She—wanted to hit him real bad and instead, Izumi came by and whacked Edward on the head by the fist.

"You gave me a heart attack, you runt! Stop threatening Sakura like that!" She shouted at him, "That was not a good sparring! I guess the State Alchemist work for your little shrimp of a body made you weaker!"

"Ahh—sorry Teacher," Edward bowed, another bump was forming on his head.

Alphonse sighed. _Brother, why must you be so immature?_

Suddenly, at the word of State Alchemist, Edward had remembered something—something very important that he immediately stood up and asked, "What date is it?"

"It's the middle of the month, how should I know?" Izumi shrugged.

"Oh crap! Crap! Crap!" Edward began to freak out—or spazz out for that matter as he trembled, **"I totally forgot about this year's assessment!"**

Alphonse's head shot up as he too became worried, "Oh no!!"

Sakura, who recovered from her anger, and Izumi looked at each other and blinked, "This year's _what_?"

"The Annual Assessment for State Alchemists!" Edward replied, nervous sweat pouring down his face.

Alphonse was then the one to explain it to both Sakura and Izumi, "Every year, Ed has to pass an assessment or they'll take away the license from him."

"Wait," Sakura spoke up, "You said once that if Ed-kun loses the license then you won't be able to have the money or the proper research you needed about the Philosopher's Stone."

"T-That's right," Edward became a bit more tense than he was before, "I-I've been so busy lately, I forgot all about it! This isn't good. Not good at all…"

Izumi then said, going straight to the phone, "Great! You can use this opportunity to quit being the military's dog! I'll go ahead and let the military HQ know you won't be showing up!"

"STOP!" Edward cried, "I've been meaning to go to Headquarters anyway, sure have!" _Ah damn, if I don't make it there in time, I'll be taken away of my license for the rest of my life. And where would I get the right money to travel and look for a way to get our body back? And what about a report too?!_

Edward ran back to his room to get his things ready while Alphonse, Sakura, and Izumi followed him. Edward was frantic about this and he needed to get to a Headquarters in time to get—whatever he needs to get, in before he loses his Fullmetal Title and his license to the vast libraries as a State Alchemist!

"Wait, big brother!" Alphonse shouted, "South HQ is much closer than Central! It's only two stations away by train!"

"Got it. Thanks, Al." Edward nodded, placing papers, pencils, extra clothes, and books in his suitcase.

"What about your report?" Alphonse questioned, reminding him about that.

Edward placed his black overcoat and placed his gloves on, "I'll just whip up something on the train!"

Grabbing his suitcase, he dashed down the steps as Sakura, Al, and Izumi followed in pursuit.

Sakura blinked. _He sure wants to keep license in the military—even if he said it himself: 'The Military is a dangerous thing'._

"You be careful out there," Izumi said, smiling softly to him with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, brother. Don't get into any trouble." Alphonse agreed.

"Yeah, yeah." The older Elric said stubbornly, "I'll only be gone two or three days."

Finally, he got everything ready and his hand was on the door, "Well… I'm off…"

"Edward! Wait!"

Edward stopped and turned to the voice, "Sakura?"

"Ed-kun," The kunoichi approached him with his red coat in her arms, "You almost forgot about this." She soon lifted it up for him to take.

Edward glanced at it and then at her. He could tell that in her eyes, she wished him luck and was worried if he could keep his license.

The Fullmetal Alchemist heaved a sigh and spoke with hoarse voice, "Keep it. I'll be back soon, Sakura and when I return, I'll have to spar with you again."

And with that, he dashed out the door, leaving Sakura to watch him disappear through the distance. Her emerald-eyes blinked again and smiled, waving her hand. Alphonse also waved while Izumi smiled at him.

"Is he always in a rush?" She questioned, quirking up an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's my brother for you." Alphonse nodded his head…

* * *

_Devil's Nest Bar, Dublith_

"So, they're here in town?"

"Yes, master, yes!" The beggar shouted, nodding his head frantically, letting his master know of what he had seen, "The pink-haired girl and the Elric Brothers are here!"

It was the same creepy beggar that attacked Sakura about two days ago.

It was late at night in the town of Dublith. There were many people that were still bustling around, seeing the sights and going to local bars—especially the Devil's Nest. It was a small and quaint bar, filled with many unique people, some good… and some bad, especially the man sitting on a couch with two beautiful women, handing him his glass of wine.

The man sitting on the couch was very good-looking and attractive, seeing at how the two women were around him. The man had dark-brown hair, spiked up in a gravity-defying way, a black tight muscle-t-shirt to show his muscles and abs, a black overcoat with white fluff sticking at the collar, and black pants. In addition to his dark, sexy style, he had black bracelets in both of his arms. He also wore sun-glasses.

He smirked in such a devilish yet handsome way, "Good job, Bido, for retrieving the information! You're really something else!"

Bido, the beggar, only scratched his head embarrassingly yet he was proud to have done his master's orders.

"I didn't think they would come all the way out here to Dublith," The man said as one of the women next to him handed a glass of wine, "They saved us the trouble of looking for them."

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Another voice came from the shadows of the Bar.

"Get them over here." The man waved his hands, as if there were his servants. Well, they were anyway in the first place, "Tell them, it's an emergency. I want them here right now, especially that pretty pink girl—she's cute, I'd like to get something out of her."

"What if they…"

"If they resist, bring them by force if you have to," The man ordered, "**But!"**

Then, through the lenses of the devious man's sunglasses, it revealed dark lavender eyes as he raised his hand up, showing a strange tattoo. The tattoo had a dragon, trying to bite its tail and at the middle it had a star…

It was named the 'Ouroborus Tattoo'.

"No matter what you do, don't _kill_ them," **Greed** cackled in such a horrendous way, "**They're big guests**."

* * *

"That's what happened to Sakura?" Sasuke questioned while he, Naruto, and Hinata were walking through the Konohagure village and heading towards where the Gate is, "She was sucked into that Fullmetal Alchemist graphic novel?"

"I-I know, it s-seems hard to believe S-Sasuke-san," Hinata nodded and shook her head, "But, Sakura-chan did get sucked in. Here, look at the pages." The young Hyuuga girl handed the Uchiha boy the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga.

Sasuke reluctantly took it and skimmed through the pages—and what he saw had shocked him. The pages contained the black and white drawings of Fullmetal Alchemist… with Sakura drawn into it! He could see her associating to the characters but there was no writing when she says something. The speaker bubbles of Sakura were blank. It was as if you were forbidden to not see what she is currently saying.

"T-This is impossible," Sasuke muttered under his breath, handing it to Hinata.

"See what I told you, teme?" Naruto groaned. Even if Sasuke knew about Dante, Naruto did not appreciate him working with them, especially in predicaments like these, "Come on, and show us the way to where Dante is."

"Fine, fine, dobe, I'm hurrying," Sasuke sighed, frustrated of Naruto's certain attitude towards the Uchiha. Sasuke did not understand why Naruto could be so apprehensive in situations like these when he's there. Usually, when they were in missions together, Naruto would rely on him and now… what was the certain change? _Maybe because it involves Sakura… _Sasuke shrugged the thought in his head and kept walking.

Hinata was a little bit behind the two when walking. She kept glancing at the Uzumaki and the Uchiha with her pale worried eyes. She could not understand why they were still acting like this and they've been teammates for a while now. _They s-should work a little more c-cooperatively in this situation. This I-is for Sakura-chan… their t-teammate. _Hinata fidgeted a little bit and quicken her pace to catch up with them.

As for Naruto, he was in deep thought about everything, especially Dante. What was this woman like? Where was she from? Why did she create the Alchemy Books and even wrote the Fullmetal Alchemist Graphic Novel? Does the novel have its purposes for being published and spread around Konohagure? Now that Naruto had noticed, every ninja he knows seems to be interested in the book and he could not understand that. Does this book has something veiled into it?

_I'll find out soon enough and get Sakura-chan back here! _Naruto thought with sheer determination as he asked, "Sasuke, who's this Dante-woman all about and how does your father know about her?"

Sasuke didn't look at him, however, he answered in a calm voice, "My father, when he was still alive, was interested in learning new techniques other than ninjutsu and when he found about alchemy, he got somewhat interested in it."

"He started to read some books—but all it could ever tell him is how to change something into gold, which he found very useless," Sasuke explained further, placing his hands in his pockets, "…Until, he found a certain book that shows something more vast than the usual alchemy of changing some substance into gold or something like that. It was the book that Dante had written that shows the expansion of true alchemic power."

"My father tried learning it in his own path first but his power could not equal anything like it. He tried dabbing some ninjutsu in it, however, it did not work that he became frustrated and decided to find Dante. With some luck, he found out that she lived in one of the forests at the outskirts of Konohagure…"

* * *

"_Fugaku Uchiha is your name, correct?" An old woman asked the young man that was in front of her desk, "Why are you willing to learn alchemy? Why does it interest you when you have enough power, such as Ninjutsu inside your body."_

_The man by the name of Fugaku Uchiha stood still, however, inside, he felt nervous. Something about the old woman's presence seems alienated and otherworldly that he replied, with a bit of stutter, "I-I just think it would be the best of my ability to know. I want to learn other techniques that does not need ninjutsu in it or anything like that."_

_The old woman gazed at him with an apathetic stare and then it narrowed, "__**You want power**__."_

_When she had said that simply, Fugaku trembled a bit as his lips tried to move, "No, it's not that…"_

"_It is written all over your eyes, you can not hide it." The old woman stated, "You humans are nothing but mere fools. You want to achieve something greater and greater until it overwhelms of who you are. You are the greediest creatures I have seen, not caring but anything of what you want. Then, you make up beliefs and force other humans such as yourself to follow it."_

"_Then, there comes Ninjutsu—the biggest sin of your people. It's pathetic and worthless. It only causes everyone to crave more power and to be better than everyone else. Humans have such sense of pride and greed that its foolish to even associate with beings like you."_

"_But you are too, Dante-sama!" Fugaku shouted, trying to not think of what the woman had said—though he knew, they were all true, "If you are saying that about us then you are saying it about yourself either!"_

"…" _The old woman's looked up at him, having a look that made Fugaku not stay still like he always did, "… I am a human that died a long time ago…"_

"…_What?" Fugaku asked in disbelief._

"_We alchemists search for the truth," Dante explains, "And sometimes, we alchemists, make sacrifices and devote our whole life for research that we lose the humanity within us, thus, losing the person we used to be…"_

"…"

_Dante looked at the Uchiha straight in the eye, "…Do you really want something like that? You, a mere human?"_

_As the conversation continued, there, at the window was a young boy, not older than eight or nine, watching them intently. The boy had dark-bluish hair just like Fugaku and dark eyes. He was watching them and the boy looked at his father in worry of what was going on in there. He heard voices, but he could not understand the exact topic they were talking about… _

_Sasuke Uchiha stared at his father's face—it expressed fear._

* * *

Sasuke still remembered that day and he could not forget his father's face and what the woman had said. He could not understand why his father would want such a thing and especially meeting that woman… it disgusts him. And now that he had thought about it. _My father also wanted power… like I…_

"Is that all you know, Sasuke-baka?" Naruto questions.

Sasuke nods his head, "Yes… that is all I can know. Now let's go. The quicker we do this, the quicker we can get over things and get back to normal."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and shouted, "Right!"

* * *

**A/N: And thus this chapter finishes! –gasp- Sasuke's father knows about Dante! Eep! And who's this Greed guy? (Wow, stupid question, everyone knows the dude, obviously. He's the smexy homunculus.) Agh, I think I sucked BIG TIME in the fighting/sparring scene. I'm not good at fighting/sparring scenes, even if I read good books with them in it. I just don't have the ability, sadly. But I did tried. **

**Anyways, replying reviews!**

**Chapter Eight Reviews:**

**Synneofthesun: **Yes, poor Sakura, unable to heal anything at the moment. There is a reason to why she is like that and you'll have to find out sooner or later!

**gxs2pmsing:** Why thank you for using all your day to read this! I'm sorry it had to be a long chapter but I just tend to write like that, I appreciate you tried to finish it but its alright if it takes you like two days to read it! No, no, **Hohenheim is not related to Sakura**! That'd be very wrong—but Sakura does have a father and its just not Hohenheim, okay? XD. Yeah about the whole 'never supposed to meet thing' there's a reason why its broken and it might be revealed later in the story or maybe near the end, you never know, so just keep reading and watching out for it!

**XxxReadySteadyGoxxx:** Oh no, another person who's asking about the 'never fated to meet thing'. People. THERE IS A REASON OF WHY THAT IS. It will reveal itself later in the chapters or near the end, you never know! What? You're rushing on Naruto and Hinata just to get to the FMA world parts? Geez, you people don't respect that knucklehead or the Hyuuga anymore! How dare you! XD.

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Wow, a pretty long review. Thank you for taking your time to write like that, I am very glad. Yes, I don't want to leave out the Naruto World and focus more on the Fullmetal Alchemist stuff. I want the both shows to have equal purposes in the story, however, most of the things and the plot line involve Fullmetal in them, since, and I've been such a fan of it for such a long time. Oh, and Edward finally being friends with Sakura? Well, you'll just have to see how his journey would change when she's with him. Oh and yes! There will be Roy/Riza fluff and lots of them later on, just not now, since their true introduction is on the way!

**SAQ78642:** No, no, I'm not trying to make Sakura substitute Winry at all! Sakura is actually like that—she is violent, however, a little too much than Winry but I guess I can tweak her a little bit, you know? I don't want to replace Winry, she's awesome! Really, she is! I am not trying to surrogate her what so ever and plus, Winry will have a very important position in the further chapters. Oh and Edward has OOC-ness? O.M.G. Like I said, Edward is the hardest to portray when writing a story. Please, tell me some pointers the next time you review?

**Vampyre Heartbreak:** Lol. Bad Edward—bad Edward! XD. I didn't want the two to get along that fast—of course Edward isn't always going to be kind that easily to people, especially our favorite pink-haired Kunoichi. You're getting addicted to my story? Why, thank you! Just don't get yourself too addicted because I update rather quickly—usually by four to six days after right now. Get it? So don't push yourself!

**The-Living-Shadow:** No, no! Sakura-chan is not weak XD. Like I said, there is a reason why Sakura has chakra loss at the moment and if Naruto or some other ninjas come there, they won't loose theirs. Yes, Ed was a complete jerk—I didn't want him to get along that easy, you know?

Well, that wraps up my review replies! Also, thanks to other reviewers:  
**Sakura Angel 4eva, akatsukisprincess1cc, and xXHitsuxSakuXx**

**Bottom line for everyone:**

- Hohenheim is not Sakura's father. He's always going to be Ed and Al's daddy.

- Sakura is not substituting Winry, it just so happens they are both very—violent. However, I will tweak their personalities…

- Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye will have their true appearances soon and will have lots of romantic fluff. (For all Roy/Riza fans such as myself)

- Sakura has a reason of why her chakra is weakening greatly.

- There is also a reason about the '_never meant to meet thing' _and why it is broken. It makes you think, you know? Destiny can be broken and can be controlled by you and just you.

- And just so you're all wondering, Dante is the one from the Anime that Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke is looking for. Was she Hohenheim's Past lover…? If she were, how'd she get here in Konohagure?


	10. Chapter 10: Beasts of the South

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! The review replies are at the bottom!**

**Please review, no flames accepted, however, all constructive criticism is welcomed! **

**HELP ME GET 100 OR OVER REVIEWS BY REVIEWING!! PLEASE!! ITS ALWAYS BEEIN MY GOAL TO GET A HUNDRED REVIEWS! HELP ME FULFILL MY DREAM BY REVIEWING AND I WILL HONOR YOU FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. SERIOUSLY. (Oh and make sure you state why you like to story or any constructive criticism)**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, I do own the empire/fairy tale of 'Agneta'.

The name Agneta means "Pure".

* * *

_**Chapter Ten—Beasts of the South**_

* * *

_"A man's dream is an index to his greatness."_  
—_**Zadok Rabinwitz**_

* * *

"There!" Sakura clapped her hands after she planted the beautiful pink flower seeds in the side yards of the Curtis Meat Shop. She suggested Izumi and Sig to have a little more brightness at their yard and she offered to buy the flower seeds and plant them herself. The Haruno girl smiled as she tightened the ponytail that was tied in her hair. She noticed that her hair was long enough to be tied into a small ponytail.

_I guess I'll have to get a trim…? _Sakura thought, touching the pink strands. She made a vow to herself that she were to cut her hair when it gets long for ninja missions, however, she assumed that there weren't any dangerous situations happening her, so she decided not to cut it for now. _Well, I always liked long hair; I guess I'll let it grow a bit… just not the last time._

Oh, how she remembered the time when she was a fan girl Sasuke-crazed and love obsessed girl. Those days, she used to boast a lot about her beauty, her chakra control, and her hair. At that time, she was obsessed about her hair being the prettiest and the most elegant thing ever to be seen in Konohagure! But then, when reality had hit her, being pretty wasn't one of her motives anymore.

However, inside, Sakura missed her sense of girly-ness—and her pink hair.

"Hey Sakura," Alphonse came up to her, "Planting flower seeds I see?"

"Yeah, Al," Sakura nods, standing up from the ground, "I suggested that Izumi should have a little more beauty in her yard. She agreed and I decided to plant the flowers for her."

"When will they bloom?"

"Um," Sakura tapped her lips, "Maybe—three to four months? These flowers are very rare and they tend to grow in conservative seasons. Since Dublith is pretty warm here—it might be quicker, I'm not sure."

Alphonse crouched down to examine the seeds and looked at Sakura, "You sure love flowers don't you, Sakura?"

The pink-haired female smiled brightly, "Sure do! I'm named after a flower myself…"

"You are?" Alphonse said with a curious yet astonished voice. _So, her name does have a meaning after all. I can't blame myself for not knowing; I've never heard of the name 'Sakura' before, though it does sound very pretty._

"Yes," Sakura placed her hands together, a little embarrassed of saying the name, "Sakura—it means 'Cherry Blossom', from the pink tree flowers."

"Cherry Blossoms?" Alphonse repeated in question, "Those flowers are really rare… I've heard about them and I've read legends."

"Rare…?" Sakura spoke with a little disbelief in her voice. _Rare? Oh wait, that's right. This is a different world and in their world, cherry blossoms are not very common._

"Yupp!" Alphonse laughed, standing up from the ground, "When I was a little kid, I've read stories about the rare cherry blossom flowers. They were said to be very pure and bring peace to those who are in need. There's also a fairy tale about it."

"Really?" Sakura grinned; she loved tales and stories—especially about her favorite flower, the Cherry Blossom, "Tell me about it Alphonse!"

"Yeah sure," Alphonse nodded as he sat on the front steps of the shop. Sakura also did too.

"What's weird about this story is I found it in my father's study when I was young and brother and I started to read it. It was our favorite fairy tale ever since." The armored Elric explained and Sakura only laughed.

"Ed-kun loves fairy tales? Since when was this?" The Kunoichi asked humorously, "He doesn't seem to be the kind to want to read those things."

Alphonse chuckled, "I know, Sakura, but its his only favorite fairy tale he actually likes. Now, let me tell you about it."

Sakura reluctantly listened as Alphonse told the tale, "_A long time ago, before the modern civilization had been born, there was an empire named 'Agneta'. Agneta was an empire that existed in the time of the great ancient civilizations that included the legendary city of Xerxes_."

"Xerxes?" Sakura tilted her head, "What's that?"

(A/N: Just so you know, if you read the FMA manga, Xerxes is an ancient civilization that was destroyed four-hundred years ago in the Fullmetal World. It lays at the East Desert and it was said to be destroyed by a transmutation in one night)

"Xerxes used to be an ancient civilization that existed about four hundred years ago," Alphonse stated, "That empire actually existed and now, its in ruins today in the Great Desert."

"So, if Xerxes existed, then Agneta existed also?"

"I don't know. Historians never actually confirmed it." Alphonse shrugged, "Just let me continue, Sakura."

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Sakura laughed nervously, indicating him to continue.

"Alright, thank you—now as I was saying… _Agneta was one of the great Empires of before and it was a flourished realm, filled with peaceful people, a great system of government, and it was best for their cherry blossom flowers_." Alphonse explained, "_Agneta was ruled by a great king who was very caring, sociable, dependable, and had every good trait a king should have. He also had one daughter who was the Princess. He loved her very much and was willing to protect her._"

"_I did not know what the name of the Princess was but in the story she was described as a beautiful girl—as stunning as the cherry blossoms, it says. The Princess also loved her father and most of all—she loved the cherry blossoms. She would plant one everyday around the garden and she would watch them bloom each and everyday. The father always loved to watch her daughter plant one each and he was proud that his daughter would care for something_."

"_And then, one day, the King of Xerxes decided to meet with the King of Agneta to talk about alchemy and the power of immortality. The King of Agneta, who was interested in the new technique of alchemy, decided to volunteer and find the power of Immortality. The reason why he wanted to was because he did not want to die and go old. He wanted to be always young and handsome."_

"_So, everyday, the King of Agneta would always lock himself in the study room and learn deeper and deeper about alchemy. During this, the King started to forget about his daughter… and the gorgeous cherry blossoms that brought peace. The princess was beginning to get worried of her father's behavior_."

"_Then, the government started to become a mess and it always relied on the Princess, since the King never decided on anything anymore. The King went obsessed with alchemy and he didn't even have time to be with his kingdom of Agneta or even his daughter. Then, the worse came—the king had found something that would grant him the power of Immortality and would make him stay young forever. However, the thing he found needed a sacrifice… of a pure and innocent human being_."

"_Insanely, the king decided to target the last person he wanted to kill: The Princess, his own daughter. One day, when the Princess was watching the Cherry Blossoms bloom, the King approached from behind her, holding out the dagger, and then, he had stabbed her, killing the pulchritudinous princess in an instant. This had proved that the King had changed and had gone mad—and it was all because of alchemy_."

"_Slowly realizing that he had killed his own daughter to find the true power of immortality, he cried in despair and wanted his beautiful daughter back. So, then, the last resort was to create something—transmuting his daughter with it. Then, when he had transmuted her, the Princess became alive again yet… there was a price for her life. The price for her life was she had to become the Catalyst of Alchemy… and her heart is the, what said to be, the Philosopher's Stone_."

"_Which means, the Princess was an amplifier of Alchemy and at any time, someone would use her life to do a rule-breaking Transmutation or a Taboo. The King wanted anyone, who was an alchemist, to be executed. When everyone who was proclaimed an alchemist had been executed, a young male alchemist, who was a wanderer, decided to come to Agneta for a secret journey—to get the Philosopher's Stone. No one knew he was an alchemist, however…_"

"_The man, who was looking for the Philosopher's Stone, did not know that the Princess was a Philosopher's Stone and when they had met, they fell in love with each other rapidly. And all this time, the alchemist did not know that the princess was the stone and he took her hand in marriage. The King approved of it and was happy that his daughter finally found the love of her dreams_."

"_And then, when the two had married—the male alchemist found out the Princess was the Philosopher's Stone… and he still needed it."_

As Sakura listened to this, she bit her lip and frowned, "…So what did the alchemist do after he found out the princess was the Stone?"

Alphonse shook his head and shrugged, "That was it. Brother and I didn't know what happened and it ended right there. It's like an open-ended story, you decide what happens in the ending."

"Well what did you decide, Alphonse?"

Alphonse shrugged, "I'm not sure. I just hoped the alchemist wouldn't do anything awful to the Princess. She was very pure—well, what about you?"

"Um…" Sakura tapped her lips to think for a moment and then spoke, "I think…"

Before she was even about to say anything, someone had thrown a crumpled paper at them. Alphonse and Sakura jumped in shock and then, Alphonse picked up the crumpled paper ball.

"All right, who's the litter bug…?" Alphonse huffed and opened the paper up to see what was inside.

"What's in it?" Sakura asked to take a look and when they saw what was inside, their eyes had widened.

* * *

_Abandoned Side Factory, West Side Dublith;_

"Think he'll come…?" A large, immense shadowed figure asked, turning to the other figure behind him."

"Dunno," The second figure shrugged, revealing to be a young woman, no older than twenty-years-old. She had boy-cut dark-blonde hair that was slicked back on her head, dark greenish-hazel eyes that was shaped oddly of a snake, and had thick, curvy dark fleshed lips. She also wore dark reddish-purple tattoos on her right shoulder that reached up to the bottom of her right cheek, "Maybe he'll bring company."

The large, bulky shadowed figure came out of the shadows. It revealed to be a large, muscled man with silver-white ponytail hair, a straightforward face and maybe was in his forties. He wore a tight, dark-blue uniform-kind outfit with black boots. In his hands was a large mallet that was sharpened at the edges. He sat on a dismantled rock patiently—waiting.

"He's here," A third voice said that was from a young man, lying on the roof of the abandoned building. He had dark short hair, pressed hard on the back and had intense eyes. He was short too but he was probably in his thirties. His weapon was a samurai-like sword that was attached to his belt and he wore comfortable fighting clothes.

"Is he alone, Dorchet?" Loa, the large, muscle man, had asked him.

"Nope," Answered the man named Dorchet as he continued to lie on the roof and watch the clouds pass by, "He brought the girl with him."

"Well, aren't we lucky?" Martel, the woman with the tattoos, spoke with sarcasm.

Then, he sat up from his position to see Alphonse Elric and Sakura Haruno walking up the steps to the abandoned building. Dorchet had smirked as Loa and the woman glanced at them.

Finally, when Alphonse and Sakura had arrived, Dorchet jumped down from the roof and Martel and Loa surrounded them.

As they did this, Sakura slightly trembled but kept her guard up. She had just gotten a new kunai and shuriken pouch from Izumi and it was hidden under her skirt-shorts. Her hand was at the tip of it, ready to use at any time. She didn't like the look of these guys and it reminded her of the Sound Ninja team back in the Chuunin Exams at Konohagure. _Better not be useless again, I don't like their presence around Alphonse and I._

For Alphonse, he tried to keep himself brave because it was just he and Sakura—no big brother, Edward, with him. He knew that he had to protect Sakura if they were about to attack. Clenching one of his fists, he watched the goons intently, waiting for them to say anything. The younger Elric also noticed they had weapons in there. So, he had to be careful.

"We've been waiting for you," Dorchet said, approaching Alphonse and Sakura. However, he kept his glance at Sakura and winked at her.

Sakura shifted herself away from him, disgusted about his motive to her.

Alphonse then held up the crumpled paper and spoke out loud of its writing contents, "_We know your secret. Meet us at the abandoned factory on the west side."_

"Are you the guys who wrote that?" Sakura questioned, glaring at the three of them. Oh, how she wanted to use whether the kunai or shuriken to stab one of them in the face.

Dorchet crossed his arms, "That's us. There's **a lot **we know about you."

He then turned his eyes on Sakura, "…Especially _you_, little lady."

Sakura fidgeted. _They know about me?! But how?! _The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes had widened with fear as she tried to keep her brave front up. She didn't want anyone to find out what she was capable of. What if she gets experimented here? What if she gets recruited into an evil organization just because she knows the secrets of ninjutsu? There would be so many consequences because of this that she stayed silent, unable to say anything.

Alphonse, who turned to Sakura, was concerned. He knew he had not known anything about Sakura and he made some speculations of her before. He knew she had a different presence—a different aura inside of her that he didn't even think she would have exist in this world. But, he knew, that Sakura wanted to keep her secrets and if this guy knows something, Alphonse would want him to keep his mouth shut about her. He respected Sakura's past and personal life.

Another thing that Alphonse wanted to know was his memories—and the Truth that his brother and teacher had spoke of.

"Its good that you know a lot about us," Alphonse replied, "However, leave Sakura out of this and keep her secret. All I want to know is to find about myself, that's all. Leave her out of this."

_Alphonse… _Sakura gazed at him. She knew Alphonse knows of the secrets within her and he respected that. She was glad to have a friend like him…

"Keep her secret?" Dorchet said with a sarcastic sigh, "Can't do that kid, we need to ask her some questions… very important ones we need to know of."

Loa, the large man, got impatient and spoke, "Let's just get to the point, kid. Come with us… and you might find out what you want to know."

Then, Loa turned to Sakura, "As for you… we need to know more about you. Besides, you _do want to get home,_ now don't you?"

The Kunoichi gasped silently. _They know… but how can they? I never said anything about my goal and task to go home… should I really trust these jerks? _Sakura placed her hands together. She was once again—out of words. She really didn't know what to say and she wanted to stay quiet because, if she says a thing, she might bring her and Alphonse into a bad situation.

Alphonse shook his head about the ordeal and tried to get himself away from it by saying, "… But my teacher said I'm not supposed to go with strangers."

The three goons looked at Alphonse with disbelief while Sakura just started, doing an 'anime' sweat drop behind her head. What Alphonse had said seemed—out of question, however, Alphonse had a reason for saying that. One, was to maybe get the information out to him, leaving Sakura out of danger and two, it's a true fact! Izumi doesn't want Alphonse to go with strangers, especially the ones that held the weapons.

"…How old are you guys?" Dorchet asked, shifting his eyes at them.

"Fourteen." Al answered.

"Twelve." Sakura replied.

_Here comes extreme chiding… _Dorchet thought as he spoke to them, "Fourteen-year-olds and twelve-year-olds should be able to be mature enough to think and act for themselves, right? Listen, if you're mature then you should make your own decisions! Be a brave one and stick up to yourself!"

"No more of that 'teacher says' crap!" Dorchet crossed his arms and nodded his head, "Tell us what you want!"

"You're right! I should make my OWN decisions, right Sakura?" Alphonse 'agreed'. _These guys are sure dense…_

Sakura blinked and then, she went with the flow, "T-That's right! How silly of us to not think of that!"

"Now you're getting it!" Dorchet smiled brightly, "**So just come with us**!"

WHAM!

Alphonse had kicked Dorchet across the face, sending him on the ground as Sakura smiled proudly. _Good job, Al, good job. _

With Martel and Loa, they just stared in shocked as Alphonse had somewhat attacked on Dorchet. _Oh god…_

"Yeah, we should make our decisions…" Alphonse groaned inside the armor, "…After thinking for ourselves."

Sakura patted Alphonse's on the shoulder and then glared at Martel and Loa, "We decided to _make_ you guys tell us what the heck is going on."

Loa saw the angry intents in their eyes as he stood up properly, his looming figure over them. He held his large sharp-edge mallet as if he was ready to hit them. Martel grabbed the dagger from her shoulder-pocket and shifted it out to them. Both of them didn't want this to happen, however, they had no choice. They had to follow their master's orders.

"So it comes down to force, does it?" Loa scoffed as Sakura and Alphonse did their fighting stance.

"Sakura," Alphonse whispered to her, grabbing her arm, "Run."

"What?" Sakura looked up at him, confused, "What do you mean? They'll…"

However, Alphonse had already pulled her arm as the two dashed towards them. Sakura's eyes broadened. _I-I'm not ready to attack yet…!! Al!!_

But, Alphonse wasn't planning to attack and instead, he and Sakura ran past Martel and Loa and went straight inside the abandoned factory. What's bad about this is—Martel and Loa didn't realize it till Alphonse was gone. Yes, the two were very stupid.

"…They ran away," Martel said, staring.

"Hmm, yes!" Loa replied—dumfounded.

Martel smacked him across the head, "What you mean _**'hmm, yes'**_?? After him, Loa!!"

"Hmm," Loa began to run along Martel, "Yes."

Meanwhile, Alphonse and Sakura were running for their lives. Sakura was panting for breath each time, placing all her chakra energy in her feet as she ran fast, using her ninja speed as her last resort. However, it felt like it was draining each second. _Don't you there fail on me again! _Sakura shouted inwardly at it and kept running.

As for Alphonse, he didn't have a disadvantage like Sakura for he was just a soul bound into an armor and he would never get tired. He kept running and running that he was almost out-running Sakura. He turned to her, concerned that she was getting tired. _That's right… Sakura…she's not like me._

Alphonse reluctantly grabbed Sakura and placed her on his shoulders, as if it was a piggyback ride, "Sakura, hold tight to my head, just don't take it off!"

"I-I won't!" Sakura nodded her head and then turned to see Loa and Martel catching up to them, "Alphonse, they're right behind us!"

"I know!" Alphonse replied with a hastened tone of voice, "But don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"

With Martel and Loa, they tried to increase their speed just to get to the two of them.

"Dammit, this guy's pissing me off!" Martel gritted her teeth, increasing her speed to catch up with Alphonse and Sakura.

Loa shook his head and was increasing his pace, "Don't sweat it. We've got the home court advantage. There's no way someone who's never been here before could find his way through this place. Eventually, he'll run into a dead end."

"And then…?"

"And then we nab him. Piece of cake!"

Loa and Martel cut through corners, turned right and left just to get up to Alphonse and Sakura.

"Piece of cake…"

And then, they avoided discarded rocks, turned right and left again, jumped through a hole, and then continued straight…

…And Alphonse and Sakura were still far ahead… and they did not encounter dead ends…

"What the hell?!" Martel cursed, infuriated, "I thought we had the home court advantage!?"

"Hmm…" Loa simple huffed as the seemingly never-ending chase continued.

Meanwhile, with Sakura and Alphonse, Sakura held tight to Alphonse's forehead while she sat on his shoulders. She could have sworn she was about to slip off but Alphonse was able to keep his balance perfectly. The two of them were going all over the place to try and out run the enemies. Sakura somewhat felt amused with this whole chase ordeal.

"Wow, they don't give up." Sakura commented, turning her head to Loa and Martel.

"Oh they will, Sakura." Alphonse replied, continuously running, "They'll get tired soon enough."

"But won't you get tired too?" Sakura questions.

Alphonse shook his armored head slightly, "No, not at all. I have a greater advantage than them or an ordinary human. The reason is because it's just my soul that's bound to this body and I don't get tired, I'll keep going, actually."

"I see… right…" The pink-haired Kunoichi slightly frowned. She frowned because she knew Alphonse wasn't used to this kind of body thing. Not knowing how to feel, being able to sweat, and maybe… sleep? She just had a sudden urge to want to help Alphonse dearly because he had been kind to her. He was like a brother to her now and…

"This sure brings back memories," Alphonse mentioned while looking around the place, "Big brother and I played a lot of hide and seek here back when we were training with our teacher."

Back again with Loa and Martel, Martel muttered with dissatisfaction, "That damn suit of armor just keeps running and running. Will ever stop and fight!?"

"I see," Loa responded to her statement as sweat started to pour down from his face, "I guess not having a body has its disadvantages."

"What?"

"He doesn't have to worry about getting tried," Loa said, getting to the point of his explanation, "He's planning on running us in circles until we're worn out, then stopping to finish us off."

Martel stayed silent but inside, anger was overwhelming her. She did not want to continue chasing the kid and she would love to just tackle the armored boy and whirl him around for what he had done to their teammate, Dorchet. As for the girl, Martel would rather have her dead than to bring her to her Master. _But all and all, I don't like the two of them at all…_

"That little brat!" A voice shouted from far behind, catching up with Loa and Martel.

"Dorchet!" Loa sighed with relief; he was finally up, "So you finally woke up…"

"Shut up!" Dorchet growled at him, running on the large pipes from up above, "Hey, Martel! How long are gonna let that lumbering ox, Loa, drag you down?"

He then swooped down and started to run with Martel, "Come with me. We'll cut him off and force him to fight."

"Got it, Dorchet!" Martel nodded her head.

* * *

"Well…"

Inside a secret hiding place, there sat Alphonse, cross-legged while he thought of something to do before Loa, Martel, or Dorchet had arrived. _Now what? Should I set a trap for them?_

Sakura was now down on her feet and was no longer holding onto Alphonse's shoulders. She was looking around the factory, also thinking of a plan to get away from the bad guys. She wanted to use one of her Hidden Jutsu Techniques or even a Genjutsu, however, if she were to tell Alphonse, she was afraid of how he would react. Plus, her chakra was wearing off easily in her body that she didn't know how to control it anymore.

Alphonse turned his head. He had a plan, however, he needed his brother to make it work. _If only I could just clap my hands and transmute like my brother and maybe, it will be easier for me to get Sakura out of danger. Who knows what teacher would think if she was dead and whatnot. _Alphonse glanced at Sakura, who seemed to be thinking deeply. He felt her tense and nervous, like something was bothering her. However, he could tell how scared she was.

Unexpectedly, Alphonse felt something snap above him and when he looked up, he saw that the large pipe from the ceiling was being cut into pieces and when it was fully sliced, there, appeared, Dorchet! Alphonse didn't have time to stand up that he sat there, frozen.

"Got you," Dorchet whispered evilly as he was about to slice Alphonse, only to be block by another sharp object. "What the…?!"

"Don't even DARE cut off Alphonse!" Sakura shouted at him, her long kunai on the blade of the sword, blocking its way to Alphonse. Sakura held the kunai tight, trying to out force the power of the blade that was pressing its way in. She tried all her might but she had to jump away before Dorchet could fully break the kunai.

Alphonse stood up and screamed, "Sakura! Are you alright?"

"You don't need to ask me," Sakura gritted her teeth, sweat pouring down from her pink-haired head, "Try to think of something…!"

With Dorchet, he retreated his blade for Sakura, "Damn you little girl!"

He then ran to her, about to strike her with the sword when Alphonse immediately came and stood in front of her. Instead of slicing Sakura, the sword sliced through Alphonse's metal armor, however, it didn't cut it off, and it just left a mark. Alphonse then lifted up his leg to kick him across the face and Dorchet barely had dodged it.

Dorchet had back flipped and he didn't have time to look, Sakura snuck up right behind him and elbowed him straight at the middle, causing Dorchet to shift forward and fall towards the floor. _That little bitch! She's not that cute anymore! _He stood up as soon as he can and with swift force, he grabbed Sakura's neck.

"Gah!" Sakura choked, her hands trying to loosen Dorchet's grasp, "L-Let… me… go!"

Dorchet growled at her and he really wanted to snap her head but he had orders. Before he was even trying to make her pass out, Alphonse kicked his arm away from Sakura's neck, causing Dorchet to cry out in pain. Sakura felt like she was going to faint and was about to fall on the floor and luckily, Alphonse caught her.

"S-Sakura! Wake up!" Alphonse shook her.

"Nn… A-Al?" Sakura's eyes opened instantaneously, only to see Dorchet up, ready to slice Al's armored head off, "ALPHONSE!"

Alphonse turned around and his metal-arm quickly blocked Dorchet's attack, making him bounce away from the two of them.

_Fuck… I'd love to just chop these guys in half, but I have my orders! _Dorchet watched as Alphonse held Sakura tightly in one hand while his other hand was in fighting position. _He's a tough opponent, all right… since he's fighting hand-to-hand, as long as I keep my distance, I should be okay. _Dorchet held his sword tightly as he circled Alphonse, trying to keep his cool and thinking hastily on what to do.

Alphonse had disadvantages now. First, he was carrying Sakura with one arm and if he were to set her down, someone might kidnap her. Second of all, there was his blood seal. Sure, it was safe inside the armor but sometimes, what if it could get scratched or something like that? He didn't want that to happen. _I have to protect Sakura! _He vowed, looking at Sakura who was nearly fainting from the choke.

Sakura's chakra somehow decreased greatly after the choke. She didn't know how long she could hold on to being awake. She wanted to help Alphonse fight and she didn't want to hold him down. She was worried for his safety and welfare and she wanted to do anything, just anything to make him with this battle. _I… can't… be… like this… forever…_

The Armored Elric then had an idea as he stretched his free hand and quickly grabbed the face of Dorchet, squeezing it and letting it bleed. Dorchet screamed, trying to get away from the clasp. _He's got long arms… _He gritted his teeth and then, an idea came to his head as Dorchet moved the tip of sword under Alphonse's helmet, flipping it off in the process.

This distracted Alphonse and he tried to think fast. Soon, he kicked Dorchet in the stomach, sending him towards the wall. Luckily, he still had Sakura in his one arm and she was safe from any harm.

"Aw, man!" Alphonse whined, "Not my head again!!" _Why does it always have to be my head?!_

Then, another presence had come and it dropped on his shoulders. Alphonse saw that it was the woman with tattoos and bear the name Martel. _What is she going to do…? Not my blood seal!_

"Sorry to drop in," Martel smirked, jumping inside his armor.

"Huh?!" Alphonse said with confusion.

Sakura gasped and shouted with a weak voice, "A-Al!"

As soon as she said that, she started to cough out blood. Alphonse was shocked to see the blood pouring out of Sakura's lips that he wanted to do something quick. _S-Sakura, what's going on with you?! Sakura! _But then, his attention went back to the woman that was inside his armor…

"My, my," Martel spoke, now inside Alphonse's armor, "That wasn't so hard."

"Ahh!" Alphonse freaked, "S-She's inside of me?!"

He wanted to get the woman out from his body first but Sakura was in his arms. Doing the last resort, Alphonse set Sakura down safely as he tried to get Martel out from his body. _Stay close to me, Sakura… we'll get out of here!_

Alphonse tried to move his body rigorously, just to get Martel out from there.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Martel ordered with exasperation, "Stay still, will you?!"

"This is too weird!" Alphonse held one of his armored shoulder pads to try and loosen it, "Even if I can't feel anything, it's still gross!"

"**GET OUT**!" Alphonse screamed with anger that Sakura's eyes widened, barely sitting up from her lying position.

"A-Al…" Sakura whispered with fear to see Alphonse being somewhat attacked from the inside. She felt hidden tears behind her eyes, ready to come out… she didn't know what to do.

"It's not gonna work!" Martel yelled at Alphonse, her arms oddly stretching longer than the usual length that it was able to fit perfectly in the armor. Her arm tried to hold it back.

"So how does it feel to have your body controlled from within?" Martel smirked inside, her arms controlling Alphonse.

"Try all you want, you can't control me completely!" Alphonse countered, trying his best to try and not be over powered, "I'm still stronger than you!"

Martel only chuckled deceitfully, "Heh, this isn't a contest of strength. I'm just holding you down, little boy."

Suddenly, Loa came along and approached Alphonse from behind, ready to attack him of full force, "You're going down."

Alphonse felt terrified and he didn't want to lose yet. _I… can't let Sakura… down… _He then raised his arm and tried to punch Loa from behind, however, Loa held it back with his strong muscular arm. _Or my brother!! We still have a damn goal! _

However, it was too late to react as Alphonse was tackled down on the floor, damaging some of his armored contents. Loa held him down and with his sharp edge mallet, he hit it against Alphonse, just to make him stop moving.

"No…" Alphonse whispered… he couldn't lose…

"You okay in there, Martel?" Loa questioned, knowing she was in there and he didn't know how to be careful.

"… I hit my head," Martel groaned.

As Sakura saw Alphonse tackled like that, she clenched her fists. Bowing her head down, the tears were finally coming out from her eyes. She felt useless, unneeded, and not have any purpose for this situation. She was the one being protected again and she was the one being the weakling. The pink-haired kunoichi didn't know why she was cut out for this but she began to hate it. She was always the one at the sidelines—it was never her chance to be part of it.

_I don't want to be… the one behind the back anymore… _Sakura gritted her teeth, the tears falling down on the floor as she suddenly coughed out loud, blood coming out from her soft lips. She started to not care about the blood coming out, she only cared about Alphonse, who was being held hostage. _Alphonse… you've been kind to me and if you're brother finds out that you're dead—what will happen to you goal?_

Inside her mind, she saw Edward… always happy to see his brother okay. However, she didn't want that toothy smile away from Edward's expression. She couldn't bear to see Edward without his brother. _I don't want him… to be sad… I want Edward to be… happy._

"**LET HIM GO**!" Sakura screamed as Loa, Martel, and Dorchet turned to see a very angered Sakura.

Suddenly, the inevitable happened when Sakura had screamed… Sakura's blood that was on the ground began to glow red and electricity started to spark from it, cracking louder and louder. Soon, Sakura's blood started to glow a flashy blue that it illuminated around the abandoned factory, consuming everything in it.

"Let Alphonse go!" cried the pink-haired Kunoichi, the tears continued to drip down from her eyes. She was oblivious to what was happening to her blood that was glowing and her surroundings.

Martel gasped from inside Alphonse's armor, "W-What's happening? Is this part of the plan, Loa and Dorchet?"

"I don't think so…" Loa said, stepping back, "What is it?"

"She's having a reaction that Master told about!" Dorchet shouted, feeling the ground crumble as the walls began to collapse and the pipe, "Come on! We have to get this armored kid out and the girl! We can't leave them here or else, we'll be disobeying master's complete orders!"

"But how will we stop the girl?" Martel asked.

"I don't know but we have to get her out!" Dorchet grinded his teeth beneath his mouth as he turned to Loa, "Loa, get Martel and Alphonse out, I'll get the girl!"

Loa nodded, carrying Alphonse as they went off.

Alphonse watched as he sees the reaction coming from Sakura. _S-Sakura…? _He looked around to see that Sakura's blood was glowing a bright blue and causing electric sparks around the area. Alphonse widened. Could it be…? He didn't know as he was knocked out once again…

Dorchet managed to grab Sakura and placed her on his shoulder as he retreated away from the abandoned factory. Luckily, he got out safely and joined Martel and Loa outside. The abandoned building collapsed and half of it went to the ground. If they were still in there, they could've died in an instant…

"Phew, that was close," Dorchet sighed, brushing the sweat off his head as he carried Sakura tightly on his shoulder, "Are you guys okay?"

Loa and Martel nodded.

Dorchet then placed Sakura down next to Alphonse. He soon kicked Alphonse's armor.

"You brats," He scoffed, "I still wanna smack you both, but I'd only end up being disobedient to orders. You're lucky he wants you two alive!"

Loa grunted, examining the two, "Alphonse Elric and Sakura Haruno, right?"

**"You're coming with us… to meet our master."**

* * *

Back at the Curtis Residence that night, everyone was closing the store and cleaning up in the day's work…

"Huh? Alphonse or Sakura isn't back yet?" Izumi's eyes slightly broadened to hear the news from Mason.

"What could those two be up to?!" She twitched while washing the counter.

"You know boss…" Mason said, placing a pot of dried meat on the table for Sig to dispose of, "I'm a little worried…"

He then turned to her, his eyes narrowing at Izumi, "…Maybe they were kidnapped."

Izumi shot a serious glance as Sig tensed…

"Yeah right!" Izumi laughed hard, "Like that could ever happened!"

Soon, Mason and Sig laughed along too, not knowing that they were right.

* * *

**A/N: And that concludes Chapter Ten! Oh wow, I'm up to Chapter Ten of this story! I feel so happy now—yet, I felt kind of regretful since I didn't get a chance to fit in on what happened to Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata. Oh well, wait next chapter and you'll see guys!**

**Chapter Nine Reviews:**

**Vampyre Heartbreak: **-shakes head- Yeah, I know, I could've done better though and I had to edit this scene two times. Yes, Ed cheated, that was why he won the battle. He could've lost like Alphonse if he didn't use alchemy and instead he did. Either way, both of them were being easy on Sakura and it was just sparring, it really didn't matter. Lol. I always try to write my chapters if I have free time! And the question about Ed/Sakura and Ed/Winry and Winry/Ed/Sakura thing? You'll have to find out how it happens! –Hint- Winry still falls for Edward in some extent… but it says Al/Winry, what happens?

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha: **Yes, Sasuke is a Baka. Haha.

**Skitty Kat Girl:** Yes, super long chapters, plots, and in-characters; this is what the story is all about! Thanks! I worked really hard on this! Hmm, Sakura's the Philosopher's Stone… maybe, don't know, what if she isn't? Huh? Well, how would you know? Chakra loss? Hmm, equivalent exchange? I don't know, maybe yes? No? And the never fated thing? Hmm, why was it broken? I don't know, you have to find out? Plot twists? Might come when you don't expect it at all. Edward cheated that is how he owned her badly! Alphonse was only being easy on her, even if she said to him 'don't go easy'. Oh and thanks about the drawing!

**c o o k i e - p l u s h:** I understand. I need a Beta. Badly. Thanks for the review though and yes, Sakura did own Alphonse. Al could've tried harder but… it was just sparring, so it really didn't matter. And thanks about the in-character thing! I try!

**gxs2pmsing:** Yes… it is too weird… Hohenheim being Sakura's father… he's only true love is Trisha!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Well, I think this chapter sums it up of why… and Sakura… ahem…

Thanks for the other reviewers:

**Sakura Angel 4eva, akatsukisprincess1cc, xXHitsuxSakuXx, The-Living-Shadow, and reader ninja**


	11. Chapter 11: Nothing Is Impossible

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews guys! I'm almost there for my hundredth review (or maybe over). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and make sure you give me a hell of a lot reviews! All the review replies from the previous chapter are at the bottom!**

**No flames but an acceptable constructive criticism is accepted!! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot is mine.

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven—Nothing is Impossible_**

* * *

_"I wonder… what happened if we died here?  
I don't want to die—a lot of people would be sad.  
I still have a lot of things that I want to do."_  
_**—Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist**_

* * *

"Where do you think you three are going?" Kakashi Hatake asked as he stood in front of Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke before they were even able to sneak out of the Gate. Naruto gulped, Hinata trembled, and Sasuke only blinked, though inside, he felt helpless right now. This was Kakashi were talking about! He was the legendary Copy Ninja, who copied more than one thousand Jutsus. He also fought in countless ninja battles and… enough of the Kakashi stuff, let's get back to where we are.

Naruto gulped and stepped forward, "K-Kakashi-sensei! We didn't know t-that you would b-be here!" The knuckleheaded ninja scratched his head and nervously laughed. He wanted to tiptoe away from Kakashi when he knew it would be quite impossible. Kakashi always caught him and his other teammates doing things without orders. That's what he was so good at.

"Well I'm always here," Kakashi shrugged, holding his favorite book that was titled 'Make-Out Paradise' tightly with his one hand, "I was enjoying a warm afternoon, reading my book."

Yeah right. Naruto thought as he rolled his eyes. _Who would read their book close to the gates out of Konohagure? Kakashi-sensei… that liar_. The spiked-blonde haired ninja placed his hands in his pockets and frowned, not having any idea or plan on how to try and get away from him. It totally frustrated the young ninja and he didn't know what to do that he stepped back and decided to let Sasuke do the talking.

As for Sasuke, he was already in deep thought on how to get away from Kakashi-sensei until his quick wits got him an idea and already, he grabbed Naruto's collar and whispered to his ear. As he whispered, Naruto was freaking out silently and whispered back constantly as Sasuke hit him across the head and told him to do what he says. Naruto sighed and took a deep breath. He hoped it would work real well.

"Hinata-san, close your eyes." Sasuke ordered as Hinata simply blinked at the demand.

Nonetheless, she did as she was told and closed her eyes.

Sasuke had closed his eyes and finally he heard, 'Sexy no Jutsu!'

And then, they heard: 'Helloooo Kakashi-kuuunnn!!'

And I guess they also heard the squirt of a nosebleed and someone collapsing at the same time. Yeah…

Finally, Sasuke and Hinata opened their eyes to see a fainted Kakashi with a bleeding nose and the book over his head. He didn't faint; he was just at a daze moment is all. By the time they opened their eyes, Naruto had ended the jutsu and was back to his crazy, wacky self. Sasuke and Hinata just stared at him for a long time—it was the first time that someone had ever defeated Kakashi-sensei, and it was just simply using Naruto's silly jutsus.

Naruto had caught them staring at him for a long time that he became annoyed, "What? What're you two staring at? Sasuke, this was your idea!"

"Hn, I know." Sasuke simply shrugged and walked past him, going through the gates of the village, "At least it works."

"Gah!" Naruto screeched, "But it felt so weird! And I was doing it Kakashi-sensei in the first place!! I BLAME YOU FOR EVERYTHING, TEME!"

However, Sasuke had simply ignored the loud blonde and kept walking through the forests. He was focused on the mission like he always was and getting used to Naruto's loud and idiotic rants. On the other hand, Hinata wasn't really used to somewhat traveling with them on a mission. She was used to traveling with her teammates, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and her sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi-sensei. Traveling with Naruto and Sasuke was quite otherworldly for her, seeing that the two seemed to argue a lot.

She wondered how Sakura could ever deal with those two.

* * *

"Sorry about this,"

Suddenly, Alphonse woke up from his 'knocked up' stage, only to see that he was in some kind of storage room, filled with boxes, forgotten things, and other equipment that were stacked up. The armored Elric didn't recognize this room from anywhere and the only thing he could make up of it was complete 'jail' for he had noticed that his armored-metal arms and legs were chained to each other and that he couldn't really moved at all.

Alphonse was sitting against the wall as the rest of him was chained up. Since he had just woken up, he tried to recall the early events of what had happened. His memory and thinking skills seemed to be damaged at the time being, however, he tried his best to try and remember what had happened earlier before he was stuck in this storage room, tied up and everything.

The younger Elric Brother soon recollected his memories and saw that earlier, he was running through the abandoned building, along with Sakura on his shoulders, trying to outrun the weird goons that had somewhat of inhuman strength. What's more, he could completely remember how the fight was, the girl named Martel going inside his body, weakening his potential strength, and the larger guy tackling him down at the floor.

For Sakura, Alphonse remembered that she had been choked by the swordsman guy named Dorchet and had lost energy. Alphonse remembered that he had to protect her and he also remembered about…

…Sakura's Blood.

W-What I saw… was it true? Alphonse shook his armored head, his 'eyes' blinking from the inside, trying to see if what he had seen might be true. Alphonse saw it; the blood creating cracks and forms of electricity and suddenly turning into a flashy blue color. He also remembered about how one-small amount of blood—could collapse half of the abandoned building. How was that possible? Questions raced through Alphonse's head when he heard the voice that had woken him up.

"I said sorry about this."

Alphonse jumped up slightly, "W-What?!"

"Its me, Martel," The woman with tattoos by the name of Martel had spoken to him from inside the armor. Her voice was echoing.

"I said I was sorry about this," She sighed from the inside, moving slightly, "I got guard duty. I know it feels weird with me inside but you've got to deal with it, okay?"

Alphonse shook his head again and replied simply, "That's all right. I'm already used to it. Just don't touch the blood rune in there. It's the only thing that's keeping me in this world."

Martel blinked inside his armored and turned her head to see an odd red-written transmutation circle behind her. She saw that it was poorly made and it looked like it could be wiped out for a moment. Other than that, it seemed permanent and it looked like it was actually part of the armor. This made Martel a little bit fascinated and wondered how her master's going to deal with everything her. She didn't quite know of what was going on, just as long as she was doing her orders.

She had a small intimate understanding of alchemy, however. She learned it back when she was just young since the very country of Amestris was basically obsessed with alchemy that she can't help to just read a few books. Martel already knew that, that transmutation circle on Alphonse was a Soul Binding Circle. _Maybe this is what master's been so interested about…_

"You know…" She spoke, her voice slightly tired, "…Your body's pretty neat."

"You're pretty unusual yourself, aren't you Miss?" Alphonse stated, a little bit of question in his tone of voice.

Martel smiled; she took that as a compliment than a question. Usually, people from the 'outside' would call her a big freak of nature because the way the structure of her body works. Sometimes, they would just disgrace her. She never knew someone, like Alphonse, would actually say something like that. She then shifted her hand up and decided to stretch it around, using her supernatural-like abilities.

"…Do you know what a chimera is?" She questioned. She knew a skilled alchemist like Alphonse, who was also a younger brother of a prodigy, would actually know something.

"My body…" Martel continued, "…_Is part snake__._"

Immediately, Alphonse was shocked and the only thing that came up in Alphonse's mind was a little girl by the name of Nina Tucker and her dog, Alexander. He remembered it quite well; the time when his older brother and him decided to research about the Philosopher's Stone and gathering the research from Nina's father, Shou Tucker, who was a great State Alchemist himself… a _Chimera Research_ Alchemist.

He remembered—the bad memories. Alphonse witnessed everything. From when Tucker became insane and experimented on his wife and turned her into a chimera and then, using his very own daughter as an experiment and merging her into the dog, Alexander, turning her into a lifeless and dull chimera-being. A complete monster that can never be fixed. He was hurt and he knew… it was quite impossible.

"But…" Alphonse's voice seemed to trail off and yet, it became louder, "…But that's impossible! I thought you couldn't make human-animal chimeras! No one's ever succeeded!"

"How rude!" Martel replied right away from inside Alphonse's armor, completely offended emotions veiled into her voice, "If I'm not a success, then what am I?"

Alphonse went completely silent as he listened to Martel's voice when she continued, "I used to be a soldier. I was critically wounded in the south border war."

Martel began to reminisce about her experience about the way—she remembered how she was dragged there from the academy and was still one of the newly recruited soldiers. She tried to keep a brave front at all times and told herself that she would go through without being scarred in any of her body. She began to fight with all her might, shooting and throwing grenades at the enemy territory.

And then, to her mistake, she caught her guard down and stepped into a minefield, causing her body to be injured completely—with no cure and no hope. Of course she didn't want to die and she wanted to keep living, but, she knew, it was the end of her. The once brave Martel of the battlefield began to be weak, withered, until she was left to die.

"However," Martel said softly, "The Military dragged my half-dead body to their laboratories and used me for their experiments."

She couldn't remember what had happened, though. However, she knew she was going to be alive at least, even if she was being treated like a lab rat by her country's military.

"… And that's how I got like this," Martel concluded her story, playing with her fingers and stretching them around with her abilities.

"…But that's awful!" Alphonse shouted. He could never imagine that the Amestrian Military would actually—do such things!

"Awful?"

"I can't believe the military would do that…!" Alphonse stuttered, shivering slightly from what he had heard, "Experimenting on people… changing your body… it's too horrible for words!"

Martel only laughed bitterly at what Alphonse had said, "I guess it was pretty callous. The last thing I remembered was having half of my body blown off a by a mine and when I woke up, I had the body of a snake."

Dorchet was in the storage room with them, also in guard duty with Martel. He was sitting on a large box at the corner and was enjoying his pipe, smoking it around. He watched the two of them, talking about the military and how they did experiments in random soldiers without having their consent. Dorchet shared the same faith as Martel, being experimented without him knowing.

"Yeah," Dorchet agreed, relighting his pipe again, "They didn't give a damn what we wanted. To those scientists, we were just lab rats."

He also recalled the day when he was released from experimentation and the scientists showed him what he could've been if he weren't a successful human chimera. They showed him some of the failures—which were dismembered and had distorted body structures. Dorchet remembered how the looked like, how they sounded like, and how they plead for the light.

"And… you don't even want to know what the failures looked like," Dorchet explained, bringing his memories back from the Lab, "We were the success stories. We got a second chance in life… Because we were survivors."

Looking up at the ceiling, he blew a smoke from his mouth, "If they hadn't picked me, I would've died anyway. Human or Chimera, it doesn't matter in the end… At least I'm alive."

Alphonse turned to him and slightly tilted his head, "What animal did they combine you with?"

"Guess." Dorchet smirked, playing with the pipe in his mouth.

"Just watch," Martel commented, "He raises one leg when he pees."

"I do not!" Dorchet shouted, willing to hit Martel, even if it means hitting Alphonse too.

"Was it a dog…?" Alphonse replied, though, he can't help it but laugh at how Martel had said it.

"Yeah," Dorchet nodded, "Its not so bad, I kinda like it."

"You seem pretty positive about it," Alphonse said.

"Maybe too positive," Dorchet smirked, playing with his pipe by his fingers, "Anything's great after being that god-forsaken lab."

"Everyone here has some reason that they can't live in the 'normal' world." Dorchet explained, narrowing his eyes at Alphonse, "…Especially your pink-haired friend."

Then, Alphonse almost had forgotten when he tried to stand up, "Sakura…! Where is Sakura?!"

"Hold your horses down, kid," Martel said, weighing his strength down, "She's fine. She's over there at that corner."

The armored Elric looked constantly around the room and finally, his eyes settled at the young pink-haired girl at the corner, lying on a makeshift bed with nice, clean blankets over her. He noticed that her legs were chained, in case if she had woken up and tried to get away. Alphonse let out a sigh of relief that Sakura was okay and that she wasn't put somewhere far from him. _I'm glad they at least made a bed for her… she…_

"Wait, what do you mean 'something' about Sakura?!" Alphonse shouted at him, curious to know what they were planning for Sakura later on.

Dorchet just simply laughed and scratched his head, "She's got something in her that you wouldn't want to mess with, kid. Something more important than your soul bounded in an armor—that's why we have you here."

Then, the door slammed open as more people came in the storage room. Alphonse looked up from the sudden intrusion to only see a mysterious man come in. Already, something about him made Alphonse think and that his very presence in that room was already considered dangerous.

The man made his first impression as wearing a black over sleeveless over coat with white fur attached around the collar. Underneath it, he was wearing a black muscle-t-shirt, revealing his strong, structured muscles. He was also wearing black pants and black boots. To add his touch, he was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and leather-bound bracelets at his wrists. Keeping his cool in his pockets, he approached Alphonse, along with the other weird looking men behind him.

"That him?" The man questioned, looking at the large man with him, who was Loa.

"Yeah." Loa nodded. He had the sharp-edged mallet with him…

The man with dark clothes walked towards the chained Alphonse and grabbed his armored head, taking it off to look inside, only to see that it was empty.

Fascinated, the man bellowed out, "Whoah! Cool! He really is empty on the inside!"

Whacking the armor helmet back to the rest of Alphonse's armored body, he patted on it, "Nice to meet you, kid! The name's Greed, let's be friends!"

Then, Alphonse noticed something about the man and what was behind his left hand. He saw an imprint of what was called…

"The—," Alphonse stuttered, "The Ouroboros Tattoo!"

"Huh?" The man who called himself Greed took a look behind his hand, "You know about these?"

Nodding, Alphonse replied, "…I met someone weird in Central who had that mark."

"Huh! So you met one of the others?" Greed found this very interesting that he scratched his chin, "Which one? Was it that hag Lust? Or that lazy-ass Sloth? Aww, doesn't matter."

"What're you?" Alphonse questioned, "Some kind of bad guys…?"

Greed only smirked proudly as he scratched his head, "I wouldn't say that we're bad—but we're not exactly good either."

_This guy is creeping me out. If I had skin, I'd be having Goosebumps right now._ Alphonse watched as he examined him carefully, seeing how his structure worked. Alphonse then turned his glance to watch Sakura, who was sleeping peacefully in the corner. He vowed that he would get him and her out of their hands—even if they had said they weren't that bad, he still couldn't trust them with her in any way. He can't believe he was saying this, but he wished his brother would come back.

"So…" Greed crouched down on the floor to be in level with Alphonse, "Al… isn't it?"

Soon, his face leaned closer to him, letting Alphonse look at him in the eye, "What does it feel like to be nothing but a soul… with a body that can never die?"

"…How do you know that about me?" Alphonse asked, keeping his composure, though his eyes were no longer staring straight at Greed but at Sakura.

"Hahaha!" Greed backed his head up and laughed, "How do I know?!"

He raised his finger up, indicating Alphonse to remember something, "Remember when you fought a serial killer back in East City?"

Alphonse squirmed a bit inside, but not enough movement for Martel, Greed, or the others to see it…

* * *

_"I'll give you a moment to pray," The serial killer with the scar on his forehead ordered Edward Elric, who was down on his knees… his auto-mail damaged and destroyed. The rain poured down on the both of them as Alphonse watched, his armor also damaged from the inside out, however, he still managed to at least sit up to see the whole thing._

_"Sorry to disappoint you," Edward groaned, "But there's no God that I feel like praying to."_

_Edward cleared his throat, his head down on the ground, "Am I the only one you're after? My younger brother, Al… are you going to kill him too?"_

_"If anyone gets in my way, I will eliminate them… but right now, I only have business with you, the Fullmetal Alchemist."_

_"All right then," The blonde-haired alchemist gritted his teeth, "Promise me… Promise me you won't touch my brother…"_

_"Ed…" Alphonse gasped at what his brother had just said._

_"I promise," The killer replied in a soft tone, shifting his bare hand towards Edward's head, ready to destroy him from the inside out._

_"What do you mean?!" Alphonse shouted, trying to get up, "Edward, what are you doing? Run!!"_

_**"Get up!! Run! Get out of there!!"**_

_**"No! Please don't kill him!!"**_

_**"EDWARD!!"**_

* * *

Oh yes, Alphonse remembered every single damn detail about that experience—that serial killer, his brother down on the ground, and his own screams overwhelming the air. He disliked that memory and he didn't want that to happen. He didn't want his brother in a near-death situation (well, he also had been, but not like that.).

"Plenty of civilians and soldiers were on the scene and they saw you," Greed continued, "The commander in charge of the operation placed a gag order on the incident but… secrets have a way of getting out, now don't they?"

Alphonse was about to ask how such a person could he know but Greed disrupted him to say, "Anyway, I've got my sources…"

"Why did you bring me here?" Alphonse asked. His 'eyes' were now staring at him, even if no one could see such emotions, Alphonse was death glaring him.

Greed smiled in such a devious way, "Transmuting a person's soul and binding it to a physical object…"

Then, he faces him again, his sharp-like teeth turning into a psychopathic smirk, "Think about it. If you can do that, you've got yourself **eternal life**! Am I right?"

He then stood up and his smirk growing bigger, "I want it all."

Alphonse gasped silently as he saw that smirk and immediately, his braveness was slightly fading off.

Greed laughed, "Money!! Sex!! Power!! Fame!! I want everything in the world!!"

The selfish homunculus then clenched his fist tightly, "…And most of all… I want Eternal Life!"

He pointed his finger at Alphonse, "The secret lies inside of you. And now, you're going to help me get it. Try to refuse and I'll cut you apart to find the secrets of your soul…"

"The secret lies inside of you," Greed stated, "And now you're gonna help me get it. Try to refuse and I'll cut you apart… to find the secrets of your soul."

Alphonse flinched a small bit and then turned his 'eyes' to gaze at Sakura, who was still sleeping, so innocent in the midst of this whole ordeal, "…What about Sakura?"

"Her?" Greed turned his dark-lavender eyes to the girl sleeping at the corner of the room. He licked his lips, "She's nothing in your business. She's someone who we'll save for last. Too bad, such a cute, hot girl like her—getting caught up in this because of something inside of her."

"What a shame." Alphonse said with resentment in his voice, "You **are** a bad guy."

Greed was confused and when he looked down at what Alphonse was doing on the ground, he noticed that the armored boy was drawing a transmutation circle on the ground. Of course, Greed didn't have time to react, for Alphonse had already clapped his chained hands together and placed it upon the circle, causing it to react, crackle, and then… BOOM!

From the ground, a large, rock-like fist came out, sending itself towards Greed's stomach and tried to punch through it. A normal human could've already been punched all the way up the ceiling, however, the large transmuted fist didn't seem strong enough to punch through Greed and throw him towards the ceiling, and it merely pressed him.

Smirking proudly inside, Alphonse began to draw another transmutation circle and hopefully, he'll get out and Sakura also, "You let your guard down! I can easily break these chains with alchemy…"

Before Alphonse had the chance to draw the transmutation circle completely, he heard something break into pieces. Looking up, he saw Greed breaking the rock-like fist he had transmuted with his own hands. Alphonse felt his pace needed to quicken, however, Greed smirked wider at him.

"…You were saying?" He grinned as he raised his hand up, grabbed Alphonse by the head, and crashed it upon the ground. He chuckled deceitfully and knelt down.

"Just chill, okay?" He told him and then blinked, remembering Martel was inside the armor, "Oops! Sorry about that Martel… forgot you were in there."

Inside, Martel felt like the whole world had just crashed in her shoulders and she felt like a large train had hit her. As for Alphonse, he stood up, even in chains. _Darn, this guy's different than those others—I can tell. I just want to get out of here now, I don't want to put Sakura in danger…_

Greed laughed, "Haha! You got spunk, kid I'll give you that."

He then kicked the rocks that used to form the rock-like fist to the wall, "But parlor tricks like that ain't gonna cut it. If you really want to kill me then you gotta try harder—like this."

Surprisingly, Loa lifted his sharp-edged mallet and hit Greed's across the head, sending half of his face flying across the wall. Blood squirted everywhere until it turned into a pool of blood on the floor. Alphonse felt disgusted and didn't want to look, though, he had seen many occurrences like that happen during his journeys. Greed's followers, on the other hand, just watched as if they saw this everyday. They were used to it.

"Huh?" Alphonse was still confused about something though. Loa was his friend—well, more like follower, "Why did you do that?! He was your…"

"…Friend?" Alphonse's 'eyes' saw Greed's half destroyed body standing up from the ground. He felt himself gasped when it fully stood up, moving and what shocked him the most is that it began to regenerate. From the muscle part, the bone part, and then the skin and flesh—the body was completed. Thunder crackles from the regeneration were to be heard as the newly formed Greed started to stretch his head around as if it was nothing.

A normal human being would be dead by then.

"Ah…" Greed sighed, cracking neck and readjusting his head, "Oh… that's nice."

Finally, when he was done stretching and rotating his head around, he wiped the blood that was coming out of his mouth and turned to Alphonse with his usual greedy smirk, "That's how you kill a guy!"

Alphonse was speechless.

Greed then turned to Loa and placed a dull face as if the events of before were absolutely nothing, "Hey, Loa. Couldn't you have made it a little cleaner?"

"Oh…" Loa shook his head, "Sorry, boss."

Then, Greed turned his attention back to Alphonse, squirting the left over blood from his nose, "So, as you can see… you can't come at me half-assed."

The armored Elric spoke up, "No! You can't be… You can't be immortal?!"

Greed knelt down to his level and sighed, "You're right—even with a body like this, I'm not immortal."

He then scratched his forehead and smiled bitterly, "You've heard of a homunculus right?"

Alphonse nodded his head slowly as Greed grinned in such a sinister way, "It's an artificial human being. A person's that's not a person."

Alphonse watched and listen as Greed placed his hands together, like all bad guys do, "That's what you're looking at right now. I was made to last. I might look young but I've been around for close to 200 years."

"That's impossible!!" Alphonse shouted in disbelief, "I thought no one ever made a Homunculus… it's just a theory…!"

Greed only threw his head back and laughed, "How little you understand. There's another world outside the one you live in—a shadow world. Things go on down here that you people in the light would never believe. You were told that successful chimera didn't exist, and yet here they are."

He then leaned his face close, threatening the younger Elric out of his bones…

**"Nothing is impossible."**

"The fact that you exist proves that, doesn't it?" Greed said, looking straight through Alphonse's hard armored face, "You, who only have a soul…"

Alphonse was completely and utterly wordless. What Greed had said made him think and inside his mind, he had many questions bustling around like bees: Is this true? Who could've created them? What was the purpose? Alphonse felt like he was going to have a headache and he felt everything inside him hurl into a confused abyss that he didn't know how to get out of.

Sure he had seen some 'things' in his travels with his brother, Edward, but nothing like this! This absolutely made no sense for the young Alphonse and he was only fourteen-years-old, still confused about the world and how it works. The experiences he had were too much for him and it made the boy question about the world sometimes… especially right now…

"I've told you my secret," Greed spoke in such a serious voice, "Now tell me yours. Tell me what they did with your soul."

Alphonse just looked at them, a loss for words.

"I'd tell him if I were you," Martel stated from inside, her voice echoing, "You don't want to be taken apart and treated like a lab animal, do you?"

"I…" Alphonse bowed his head down to think and then, his glance went over to Sakura, "I… first, before I tell you anything, what does Sakura have to do with this?! You never told me about this and please, tell me and I'll tell you what I have in mind."

"Of course, the girl…" Greed turned his head to the pink-haired Kunoichi sleeping soundly in the other side of the room, "She's a secret—an otherworldly secret that was thought to be a legend through centuries. Someone like her could be impossible but now, she's here, so it's possible."

"What do you mean? What is so impossible about Sakura?!" Alphonse asked, his voice rising like fire.

Greed smirked, "Like us, she should belong in the 'shadow world' but luckily, her appearance seems suitable to be accepted, even if she had pink-hair and everything that's different about her. She's an illusion to the world outside but in the shadow world, she's a very important girl and she belongs to where we are…"

"She's what you say—something that you and other alchemists had been looking for all along…" The Homunculus narrowed his eyes to the ground, "And she might be the key to Immortality, I am not sure and that is why we're willing to activate what lurks inside of her."

Alphonse tilted his head. He was confused, bewildered, and most of all, worried about Sakura, "I still don't get it. She's just—an ordinary girl, okay?! Please don't do anything to her!"

"We can't fulfill that, kid," Greed stood up from the ground and approached Sakura, "This girl… has the power that alchemists such as you want to grasp upon. Something you thought could be so impossible yet there she is, proof that everything could be possible unless you find how to do it."

"…So, Alphonse," Greed said, his back turned to him and the others as he kept staring at Sakura…

**"…Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"**

* * *

"How far is this Dante's place?" Naruto whined as he was trailing behind both Hinata and Sasuke through the forests. Sasuke was all the way at front, Hinata was the second one in front, and the whining and complaining Naruto was all the way behind. Poor Naruto, he really wanted a glass of water right now or a bowl full of warm ramen. He could just feel the juicy noodles sinking in his teeth that he… oh, damn, he just wants Ramen right now!

"Quit complaining, Naruto," Sasuke felt his eye twitching. It was the freakin' fifth time that Naruto had been whining and they were getting close too, "Another feet and were already there."

"Are you sure you know where you're going, teme?!" Naruto cursed at him, gritting his teeth and sighing. _Man, I feel so tired… gah, I don't think I can walk anymore. Where's a Ramen shop when you need one? Ugh…_

Naruto felt his stomach grumble, pleading to just eat something. He felt the pool of drool beneath his mouth ready to come back. Naruto felt in rage as he just wanted to eat something—just something. He didn't care if he would eat a random tree or something… his stomach was controlling him.

Hinata heard Naruto's stomach making sounds behind her as she turned around to see Naruto, frowning humorously and thinking about food. Just watching this made Hinata laugh—and blush at the same time. She always watched Naruto from afar and had feelings for him. Somehow, just traveling with him, made her feelings burst into fire inside of her. She really did care for Naruto and soon, she felt like she was growing to…

_Love him…_ Hinata felt herself shiver at the thought. Did he silly crush form into something great such as love? Sure, like Sakura, Hinata was secretly a hopeless romantic. She read some romance novels to herself and daydream every time she had a day off from training. She knew she always had a crush on Naruto but she had always believed that all crushes wouldn't last long…

But now that she thought of it, her crush was longer than she had expected it and now it was turning to something called 'love'. Do miracles such as that really occur a lot or was Hinata only dreaming? She shook her head and smiled sweetly at Naruto again._Oh Naruto… I-if only I c-can just say the right w-words…_ Hinata thought and turned her head back and continued walking.

As for Sasuke, he was pretty sure he remembered where he was going. He remembered the exact directions and the exact pathway to Dante's house. The Uchiha wondered why his father would want to go deeper in alchemy and actually confront an alchemist like Dante. It made him think that his father kept something from the family and he didn't quite know what it was. Sure, when his father was alive, he gave them hints—but never that much.

His father, Fugaku, never even discussed any of his deep secrets to his wife, Mikoto, who was also Sasuke's mother. As for Itachi (which Sasuke mentally cursed himself for actually saying that bastard's name in his head), he was sure that Itachi wanted to know the secrets of his father and why he seemed to take interest in alchemy. _No wonder why that—that bastard followed him a lot. _Sasuke gritted his teeth; Itachi—how he despised him so much.

_I will find you Itachi…_ Sasuke vowed to himself. _And I will finally defeat you and for what you have done…_

The last living Uchiha then snapped away from his thoughts and looked up towards the distance to see a gate nearby. That must be Dante's house…

"Naruto, Hinata," He called to the two, "Dante's house is over there, let's go."

"R-Right, Uchiha-san," Hinata reluctantly nodded and started to run.

Naruto only groaned; he was not in a mood to run, "Let's hope we find some grub there to eat! I'm starving as hell here!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Just come on Naruto, don't you want to find Sakura already?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm coming, baka!" Naruto screamed back, trying to resist his noise-making stomach and ran with them.

Then, something made Naruto immediately serious and it was just by running closer and closer towards Dante's place. Something about this made Naruto wonder and the very presence of the place made him shiver down his spine. He didn't like how the place was and something lurks behind the gates and it made Naruto more curious than ever.

Hinata was feeling the same thing and decided to use her Byakugan secretly, just to see what was inside the place before they really go in yet. She felt the same unknown energy and when she searched was behind the walls, she so absolutely nothing—however, something did spark in there. There was one room in the house that was conducting all the unknown energy and she was eager to go in there.

With Sasuke, he felt the energy and aura too but did nothing of it. He seemed used to these kinds of energy and plus, he followed his father a lot here when he was young so the energy grew to him. However, the one thing that made Sasuke so hesitant about the place is the presence of the owner, Dante. It made him wonder what she was hiding and the look in her eyes seemed out of place—he remembered his memories all too well.

When they were close to the gates of the house, they examined the place. It was a large house and the house wasn't styled like the ones back in the village. It was styled oddly—it was a style they had never seen before. (**A/N**: The Naruto Characters didn't know this but the style is of Victorian Style, you know, back in the 1900s in Europe). It made it stand out from the rest they had seen.

It had large bay windows, covered with velvet curtains that seemed to never allow the sunlight. The door was russet and brown, which added the dull look even more. The house looked mysterious all right; it seemed to threaten visitors to never come in here. The only welcoming thing in the house was the front yard—it was filled with healthy trees, flowers planted at the side, and the grass was a healthy and lively green color.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and Naruto and signaled them to come with him. The other two nodded and followed him. The Uchiha hesitated somehow and hesitation was a thing that he never does. He then shifted his palms out to slowly push the dark gates open and when it opened slowly, it made creaking noises that can make the hair in your skin jump up.

Naruto jumped up though, "Geez, this is creepy! What kind of place is this?!"

"Be quiet, you dobe," Sasuke scoffed at him, "We don't want to bother her—she's obviously in there. Now come on and be quiet."

Naruto frowned and did a 'humph'. He didn't appreciate Sasuke being a leader of this whole pack. _Of course, he has to be the one to lead everything, just because he new this Dante-lady. Damn you Sasuke-teme._ However, Naruto followed him without a complaint. Besides, he wanted to retrieve Sakura out from the graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist and he knew that she was probably dragged in there by alchemy or something because there was not one jutsu that can drag a person in the book.

Hinata felt Goosebumps suddenly appearing in her skins as she stayed close to both Sasuke and Naruto. Even if the front yard of the house seemed pleasant enough, everything else in the house seemed threatening. She also wondered how mercenaries or criminal ninjas never touched anything of this place. This house had been here for a long time, like Sasuke says… couldn't it had been destroyed by now because of criminal ninjas? _T-This doesn't make sense at all…_

"Do you think she's home?" Naruto questions as they went to the porch.

Sasuke merely shrugged and raised his hand up, forming it into a gentle fist, and knocking on the russet door. He knocked gently but it was loud enough to be heard inside the house. The Uchiha heard that his knocking noise seemed to echo around the house and this made him a little bit nervous on who was going to open the door.

Sasuke had never been nervous—especially in battles. The only time he was ever nervous was when he fought that Shinobi in the Mist Village, Haku. He remembered the experience and how he was unable to move because of the needles impaled all over his body. He wanted to live because his goal wasn't finished yet—and he was scared also… scared of dying like that without fulfilling his goal. How stupid I was back then…

Suddenly, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata heard footsteps from inside the house. The three of them got their weapons ready, just in case if it was the inevitable. They didn't want some random evil ninja opening the door and just killing them at the porch like that. That would be the most foolish way to die as a Shinobi so all of them were all on guard.

"Let's see who opens the door…" Naruto smirked; he was willing to fight again, though, he was still hungry. _Ahh… I really need food RIGHT NOW!_ Naruto felt like his stomach was probably going to explode…

Hinata activated her Byakugan quickly and Sasuke with his Sharingan…

The doorknob turned and the door opens.

* * *

**A/N: Haha, I just love cliffhangers like that. Wow, I was able to focus on the Naruto Gang in this chapter and I feel so proud. Sorry for taking Edward away again! He's going to be in the next chapter, I know it and then the whole Greed and Ed fight thing you know? Now, to finish the chapter, here are the review replies!!**

**Chapter Ten Reviews:**

**oOo TripWire XD oOo:** Whoah, calm down… we don't want any blood squirting here because of fast adrenaline! –Laughs- Okay, time to answer your questions… well, about what Edward's going to do, you'll have to find out yourself. And the ninjas finding Dante—well, they found her house but not her yet. And Edward showing some fluff for Sakura… err, we'll see… And Sakura showing cool jutsus? Possibility. If her chakra doesn't fail on her XD. Thanks for the review!

**ponies1998:** Sakura-chan, the princess? Um… I don't know… not sure, maybe you should find out? Well, here's the chapter, I hope you review next time!

**Theblackroseofkonoha:** Thanks for the review and Sakura-chan the princess? Er, read the reply above. XP.

**Synneofthesun:** I know, damn grammar errors…I am in need of a serious beta. Any suggestions that I can find one and send my stories to be edited? XD. Yes, I think what Greed said in this chapter gave you a clue on what Sakura's purpose was but wait till the next chapter though!

**gxs2pmsing:** Yes, they met Greed! Dude, he's awesome! XD. Yes, isn't Dorchet awesome? Love that guy and all of Greed's weird followers. Ha. Thanks for the review!

**Skitty Kat Girl:** Ah, sorry about grammar errors! I hate it too and that is how I am searching for a beta. Any suggestions? XD. Yes, pulchritudinous is my favorite word to describe what's beautiful! You should try searching up this word 'pusillanimous' because that's always another one of my favorites!

**XxxReadySteadyGoxxx:** No, no, I don't mind that and absolutely, I have to thank you for pointing those things out for me! Now, I'll edit them okay? Thanks a lot and thanks for pointing them out, I'll try my hardest to get rid of grammar errors!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Thanks for the review! And yes, I think this chapter practically tells of what Sakura maybe, though it was pretty obvious from the beginning. (I tried my hardest not to make it too obvious). But anyways, thanks for the review and make sure you review in this chapter!

**The-Living-Shadow:** Yeah, maybe Sakura's chakra is working again… not sure… maybe it's something else? XD. Thanks for the review and yes, the blue part was my favorite too!

Now, I say thanks to my other reviewers:  
**Sakura Angel 4eva**


	12. Chapter 12: Unanswered Riddles

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! Now I give you Chapter Twelve, hope you enjoy! Review replies are at the bottom.**

**No flames but an acceptable constructive criticism is allowed!!**

**Aww, please review guys! Please. Please. Please. So I can continue faster than ever. **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. The plot and the new character are mine.

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven—Unanswered Riddles**_

* * *

"_We always find ourselves crying out.  
Just continuing to believe is not the answer.  
We must bear our weaknesses and wounds.  
And continue to struggle or nothing will ever turn out."_  
—_**To The Other Side Of The Door, YeLLOW Generation**_

* * *

Suddenly, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata heard footsteps from inside the house. The three of them got their weapons ready, just in case if it was the inevitable. They didn't want some random evil ninja opening the door and just killing them at the porch like that. That would be the most foolish way to die as a Shinobi so all of them were all on guard.

"Let's see who opens the door…" Naruto smirked; he was willing to fight again, though, he was still hungry. _Ahh… I really need food RIGHT NOW!_ Naruto felt like his stomach was probably going to explode…

Hinata activated her Byakugan quickly and Sasuke with his Sharingan…

The doorknob turned and the door began to open.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's eyes widened—_quite confused_.

"Hello?" A young feminine voice spoke out as she opened the door wide to see who was there, "Hi there, um… may I help you?"

The voice revealed to be as a young girl, about Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's age. She had long dark-black hair that was placed into low-pigtails, blue-gray eyes, and had a soft complexion. She was wearing a blue-sleeveless zippered up shirt with a hood attached to it and dark-blue shorts that stretched above her knees. She was also wearing the blue-ninja sandals. However, she was not wearing a ninja headband. (A/N: Her outfit is kind of similar to Kairi in Kingdom Heart's Two)

Then, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's collar and whispered, "You said this Dante-lady was old… what the hell are you trying to do, teme?"

Sasuke groaned and whacked Naruto across the head, "I know what I saw, dobe, and this girl isn't her!"

"Are you sure?!" Naruto whispered, his voice getting louder by the minute, "What if you led us to the wrong house!?"

As Sasuke and Naruto were idiotically backbiting about something, Hinata turned to the mysterious dark-haired girl at the door and smiled politely. The Hyuuga girl fidgeted; she didn't know what to do when she's around a person she rarely knows. It was just her nature and Hinata absolutely wanted to grow out from her shyness and become a little more lively and confident. _But I-I just c-can't… _

"Um, is there something wrong with the two?" The girl questioned Hinata while raising an eyebrow.

"I-I…" Hinata placed her fingers together and looked down at the ground, "W-Well, they are a-always like this and…"

"Oh, I see…" The girl shook her head for a moment, "I can't blame them."

Hinata just nodded and the two of them watch Naruto and Sasuke fight pointlessly until the girl spoke, "Okay… well, I'm Kimiko Acari."

The girl shifted her hand out for her to shake and Hinata accepted it, "I'm H-Hinata Hyuuga, nice to m-meet you, Kimiko-san."

Finally, Sasuke and Naruto stopped their meaningless bickering to see that Hinata was shaking the newcomer's hand. The two ninjas just started and then looked at Kimiko, who seemed like a very acceptable person but they weren't that sure yet. The two of them had a hunch about her, especially Sasuke, who sensed the same wave of energy in her. He didn't really assume of what that force may be so he came up to the girl.

"Is this house owned by a woman named Dante?" asked Sasuke, getting straight to the point as he calmly placed his hands in his pockets. He didn't even bother to introduce himself and ask the girl's name.

And that was what Kimiko thought when she raised an eyebrow. From Sasuke's first impression, Kimiko immediately did not like him at all. She rarely knew him and he didn't even have the decency to at least introduce him to her or even ask her name. Usually, girls would already ogle on Sasuke by first impression—but for Kimiko, she had already disliked him and was suspicious.

"What if it is?" She simply spat back, turning her head away from him.

Naruto's eyes widened. This was the first time a girl had ever turned down Sasuke! In the missions he had been, whenever a girl spotted Sasuke, the girl can't help it but surrender into Sasuke's so-called 'hotness'. Naruto would get really pissed off at that. _But now, haha, Sasuke-teme had just been rejected! I think this girl's gonna be a good person to lean into. She had resisted his so-called 'bad boy' charms or whatever Sakura-chan or Ino-san used to call it. _

As for Sasuke, he faintly twitched, quite annoyed by that girl already. On a daily basis, Sasuke would always get what he wants, even if it's just the first-time he was asking for it. The Uchiha had this sense of feeling in power. He thinks he's of higher status than anyone else and he could just simply demand someone and within two seconds tops, it would be right there for him. But now, this girl that had just turned his question down—it made him… so annoyed.

Not like 'annoyed' like 'Sakura asking you for dates constantly' annoyed but the annoyed that 'he doesn't get what he wants'.

Trying to lock his anger and infuriation inside himself, Sasuke spoke, trying to cool his tone of voice down, "Fine. My name is Sasuke Uchiha and over there, the blonde, is Naruto Uzumaki. And I am certain that you had already met Hinata Hyuuga."

"A pleasure," Kimiko said plainly, not exactly 'shocked' about the whole Uchiha thing. "My name's Kimiko Acari."

Sasuke, even Naruto and Hinata were surprised to see that Kimiko didn't react to anything when she had heard the word 'Uchiha' slip out of Sasuke's lips. When Sasuke would introduce himself and say he was an Uchiha, people would immediately just bow down to their knees and start worshipping him.

The Uchiha clan was a prestigious clan, even after Itachi Uchiha destroyed it. Everyone (well, mostly), were afraid of the Uchiha clan's powers of the Sharingan and it was very, and I mean, VERY rare to see someone treat an Uchiha as another dull and average person.

Raising an eyebrow, Kimiko wondered why the three were silent, "Okay… is there something wrong?"

"N-No," Naruto spoke up, somewhat trembling, "Nothing at all, believe it."

"Right…" Kimiko just scratched her neck, "So what're you guys doing around this forest? A mission? If it is, you guys would usually have someone older to guide you."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other while Hinata just stood behind them, quite confused about the whole thing. Sasuke and Naruto glanced back at her—had she had been a ninja or something? Well, they all saw that she did not bear a hitai-ate or a ninja headband anywhere. So that could assume one thing…

Kimiko groaned; she knew exactly why they were staring at her now, "…Is it because I'm not a ninja? Yeah, its because I'm not, okay? So what business do you have here?"

"Look, Acari-san," Sasuke began to speak, "We just want to know if there is a woman by the name of Dante that resides in this house or owns this house for that matter."

"Why would you want to know, you incoherent fool!?" Kimiko just shouted at him, "You are not in a proper position to make—,"

"Kimiko, who is at the door? I hear such unruly noises... "

Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata's heads perked up to see who was the one that said that. As for Kimiko, she quickly spun her head around, slightly trembling a bit.

Ascending from the stairs inside the house, a rather old but tall woman came down the steps gently and gracefully, as if she was a queen of a kingdom. The woman, from her facial features, looked wise and somehow gorgeous for an old woman. The old woman wore a long velvet dress and some darker shades of velvet robes over it. Her gray hair was tied into a bun while strands of it were falling delicately down her face.

She had this strange atmosphere that Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata felt—it was the same one they had felt before they even entered the perimeter of the area. It felt thickening yet… it felt powerful, more powerful than they had ever felt before. What's odd was… it wasn't the chakra energy flow they usually felt—it was something else.

What's weird is by just looking at her, the three of them felt dead silent and they did not know what to say. It was as if you were banned from just speaking a single word to her. It was as if she was the empress and you were just a bunch of plebians or low status people.

Kimiko bowed down, "I-I apologized, Master Dante, I didn't mean to cause such commotion. These three foreigners had arrived her without a warning and I don't know…"

"It is alright, young apprentice," Dante told her gently, raising a hand up to dismiss further explanations and excuses.

_Apprentice?! _Naruto's eyes broadened at this news. The young Uzumaki looked at Kimiko and then at the old woman who was called 'Dante'. Well, he obviously knew that was Dante because Sasuke had told him that she looked old and wrinkly. The wind started to pick up as there was absolute silence between the three young Genins and the two newcomers that were at the door.

Sasuke felt like he was suffocating. The presence and the aura of Dante were just too much and what's weird—she still looked the same as she was back then, from what Sasuke remembered as a child. She still had the same wrinkled places, the eyes that seemed to shift every time she looked or concentrated or something, and her hairstyle was even the same. There was nothing that changed in her, except how she was so—he was at a loss of words.

Hinata simply walked towards Naruto, ready to hide behind his back. Even without her Byakugan, she can somewhat see the energy flowing within her rapidly. She didn't know what kind of energy it nor could she determine it. From all her missions, she had seen many kinds of chakra flow and chakra movement inside a person's body but this… this was utterly different. She could say the same thing to Kimiko; she also had the same energy flow.

_Who are these people really…? _Naruto thought, questions racing throughout his head. Sure, Kimiko seemed like a considerate person—seeing that she was the first girl that ever neither rejected Sasuke nor showed any respect for him. Naruto was starting to get fond of Kimiko, however, he didn't want to leave his guard down, hearing that Kimiko was an apprentice to this Dante-lady.

Dante eyed the children with her light-brown eyes gleaming. She finally knew what there purpose was, just seeing the look on their faces. She smirked inwardly and then glanced at each one of them. She already knew of Naruto's existence; the spiked-blonde haired, cerulean-blue eyed troublemaker of the village. She also knew that he was the concubine for the sealed demon, the Nine-Tailed Fox. _Such an incredible power in a child's small body… _Dante thought, placing her hands together.

Her eyes then bestowed upon the Hyuuga girl. At first she thought that Hinata was frail and weak for a Hyuuga but when she noticed the large and overpowering energy within her, she thought wrong. Dante assumed by about three to four years, the girl could finally reach her true potential as a Hyuuga. _Just a few more years—you'll learn what true strength is, human girl. _

Finally, her eyes fell towards the Uchiha Boy, who was standing there intently, looking at her straight through the eye. Dante didn't like his presence when she had first stepped to the porch and just seeing the Uchiha Boy made her think of the last Uchiha that had came to the house—Fugaku Uchiha. She could still remember the memory of the Uchiha Leader, coming in her house and begging her to teach him the secrets of Alchemy, when she knew that Fugaku already had enough power.

_And he's got that look in his eyes… _Dante sighed inwardly; she knew what had happened to the Uchiha Clan also. The female Alchemist continued to stare at Sasuke, scanning his face and remembering it in her mind. His face carried the want of having power, which was a very dangerous thing for a child his age. She understood why Sasuke wanted power—because of avenging his clan.

_Humans are so pathetic. _Dante thought, crossing her arms and placing a false smile on her face, "What brings you to this part of the woods, young Shinobis?"

Naruto answered, with a gritting voice inside of his lips, "We want answers."

"Answers about what?!" Kimiko shouted and Dante placed a hand over her, silencing her.

"Shush, Kimiko, do not be rude to our guests," Dante said, placing a sincere smile on her face towards the Acari. Kimiko pouted, crossed her arms, and turned her head away from them. She was obviously mortified at being chided by her own Master in front of the three newcomers. She always despised complete humiliation.

Dante then turned her head to the three, "Answers…? Child, there are so many answers for many questions… what answers would you like to know?"

"You are the author of this Fullmetal Alchemist Graphic Novel, correct?" Sasuke said with a stern face, holding up the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga.

The female alchemist looked at it and simply nodded, without hesitation after Sasuke's certain interrogation, "Yes, I was the one who created the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga. Why? I do not accept autographs or anything of that matter."

"We don't want your autograph, old lady!" Naruto spat at her, coming towards her with large stomps of his feet, "We just want to know what you placed in that book!!"

"…" Dante was silent, just staring down at the Uzumaki while he stared up at her, anger flaring throughout his cerulean eyes.

Silent. _Cringe_. That was all Naruto could feel at the moment—something about this woman made Goosebumps appear all over his skin. He didn't know why but… it felt so awkward and so tense around her.

Placing her hand on the door, Dante turned to them, "Please come in. Your answers will be granted soon enough."

* * *

"…**Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"**

Alphonse's 'eyes' just widened with shock and various kinds of emotions were running around beneath his metal exterior and in his soul. He couldn't believe what Greed was saying to him, he just couldn't believe it. _S-Sakura… she can't be w-what… _It was all too much for the younger Elric to take in one time.

First, three goons working for Greed kidnapped him and Sakura. Second, he was bewildered and shocked at how the military operated on soldiers to turn them into successful human chimeras. Third, he met a Homunculus who wants true immortality. Finally, he is hearing this about his new friend, Sakura, being the Philosopher's Stone! What the heck is this?

"What're you saying?!" Alphonse tried to sit up from his position but the chains were holding it back and not to mention Martel was there to heavy the weight out, "The Philosopher's Stone is either a crimson liquid substance or a Stone that was created from thousands of Human Beings! The Philosopher's Stone can't be… its too impo—,"

"Nothing is Impossible," Greed cut off his sentence while the Homunculus turned to him and gave him a smirk, "Remember that I said that? Nothing is impossible, kid, nothing. Your proof that you're a soul bounded into an armor and she's proof that she is the key to immortality."

_No… Sakura can't… she can't…!! _

Alphonse then remembered the riddle—the riddle that he and his brother received just days ago…

* * *

"_**The blood is poison; a heart with no bounds and the most beautiful at first glance and withers as soon as it is pained. A face sent from above to only be surrounded by the cruelty of humanity."**_

* * *

_The blood is poison…_

Alphonse remembered Sakura's blood and how it reacted quickly when activated. It had blown half of the abandoned factory's quarters…

…_A heart with no bounds…_

Sakura was certainly kind. She was so sweet to Alphonse about anything; he saw nothing bad in her.

…_The most beautiful at first glance…_

He could admit, even if she was a little different, Sakura was beautiful. Her pink-hair did match her complexion and her green eyes.

…_And withers as soon as it is pained…_

The way Edward, his own brother, had called her insulting names and how Sakura's emotions stirred into deep sadness, causing to lock herself in her room. It was just painful for such a girl like her.

_A face sent from above…_

Well, she was different—otherworldly perhaps, so that counts.

…_Only surrounded by the cruelty of humanity…_

Does that mean—having to be trapped around the sins of human beings? Like, the situation they were in—with Greed and his thugs? She was, beyond doubt, surrounded by cruelty and danger.

…Yet, Alphonse couldn't believe it all. A human that is actually a Philosopher's Stone—a _**true **_Philosopher's Stone. This was all too much for Alphonse to actually take in because one, Sakura was his own friend—he couldn't just take her life away because of what Greed says, her very life is the reactions of the Stone encased in her body. Why? Why could… they place an innocent girl with the most **dangerous** position?

Alphonse was unable to think further and instead, he was absolutely silent. He didn't know the right words to say anymore. What's more—he didn't know how to tell his own brother about the information he had just retrieved. _Brother, how can I tell you that the very Philosopher's Stone… is just a young girl… who's trying to befriend us? _

He glanced at the sleeping Sakura—she wasn't the kind to be the concubine of the Stone. He was confused… who had created her that way?

Alphonse can't tell this to his older brother.

He was so unsure.

Greed scratched his neck and approached Alphonse, turning his attention away from Sakura, "Now that I've told you about her purpose… we had a deal, remember? I told you my secret, I told you about her position to me, and now, tell me yours. Tell me what they did to with your soul."

Not knowing what else to say, Alphonse spoke with a quiet voice, "I can't. I don't remember how I got this body."

Lowering his armored head down, Alphonse continued, "Someone else performed the alchemy. I don't know, anything, honest."

Greed's dark-purple eyes blinked and then spoke, "Then, all we have to do is ask the guy… who performed the transmutation."

He trembled, remembering that his brother was still at his assessment and he said that it would took another day till his arrival.

"Well, that would be my big brother…" Alphonse hesitated to continue his words perfectly, "…_But he's gone_…"

The way Alphonse had said that made Greed and the others think that Edward, Alphonse's older brother, was actually **dead**.

Greed then turned to his followers and asked, "Was that rude of me?"

"Well," Dorchet tapped him on the shoulder, "Beneath that metal exterior, he is just a fourteen-year-old boy. Kids that age can be sensitive… you know?"

Alphonse felt his armored head going to tilt with confusion of what Greed and the others were planning. Was it something that he had said?

"Sorry about your loss, Kid," Greed bowed his head slightly, "We cool?"

Loa nodded, "It'll be all right. Okay?"

Alphonse felt himself blinking—if he had the proper eyes. _Um… for some reason, they think that you're __**dead**__, big brother._

* * *

_South Headquarters, Amestris;_

Meanwhile, at the South Headquarters of Amestris, Edward Elric did felt like he was dying.

"Achoo!" sneezed the Fullmetal Alchemist as he stood, waiting for the woman at the counter to check his report and to tell him where he should submit it properly. He had missed a day of his deadline and if he had wasted more days than to give it a day late, he would've been stripped off his license, which means, no more good research of trying to find the Philosopher's Stone.

"Do you have a cold?" The woman at the counter asked, fixing her glasses as she skimmed through the papers he had written.

"Maybe," Edward grabbed a tissue from his pocket and wiped off whatever it was coming out of his nose, "Aw, man…"

However, there was still a possibility that, even if he had missed a day after the deadline, that he could be stripped off his license. _The military is getting strict these days_… Edward placed his tissue back in his pocket and waited for the woman to finish looking at the notes he had written. Luckily, Edward was able to think about what he was going to write for the Assessment and he hoped that they accepted it. _If they don't, damn, Al and I will be hopeless for life._

Edward did not want that to happen at all and scratched his blonde-hair, moving the strands of hair out from his eyes. He didn't want to give up searching for the Philosopher's Stone, even if it was just a legend, he believed that it could exist. Especially the report that Sergeant Denny that gave him before he left for Rush Valley.

"The riddle," Edward whispered, placing a hand on his chin, "I forgot to ask teacher about that nor did I even think about it once since I got here."

Placing a gloved-hand in his pocket, he took out a small strip of paper where he had written the riddle. He read it and tried to remember the words…

"The blood is poison; a heart with no bounds and the most beautiful at first glance and withers as soon as it is pained. A face sent from above to only be surrounded by the cruelty of humanity." Edward recited, rolling the paper back and putting it in his pocket. _I have to get what this riddle means—I seriously hate it when I don't know something._

* * *

"_Ed-kun," Sakura approached him with his red coat in her arms, "You almost forgot about this." She soon lifted it up for him to take._

* * *

_What the?! _Edward's face heated up at the sudden flashback of Sakura in his mind. _Where did __**THAT**__ come from?! _The blonde alchemist shook his head, trying to kick the certain memory out from his mind. Somehow, after just reading the riddle, it made him think of the pink-haired girl back in Dublith, carrying his coat.

He did not understand why he asked for her to keep it. It was just a red coat, right? It really didn't matter to him so why, of all people, would he let Sakura take it? _She's waiting for me, is that it?_

The alchemist may never know as the woman at the counter told him to look at something that she was carrying. Edward nodded and took a look at what she meant.

"Okay," The woman said, shifting his report up to him, "Take this to the office of technical evaluation."

"Thanks," Edward nodded his head and placed a small smile as he headed his way to find—whatever room was the technical evaluation was at.

"You missed your deadline," The woman shouted after him, "So it's going to take a while to process the paperwork!"

"Ugh…" Edward sweat dropped, looking over the paper he had received, "Right…"

The blonde male started to walk around the hallway, trying to find the technical evaluation room. He had never been in this headquarters before and he tried to find it independently by himself. Hallway to hallway, step by step, and avoiding the weird looks he had received from the cadets and military officers walking his way, Edward slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh of frustration.

_This is my first time at South HQ… _Edward thought, looking all around him. _…And I already feel lost._

Finally, he decided to ask some random soldier that would pass by him. Edward looked around for the suitable and acceptable person he would ask and when he turned another hallway, he saw a soldier standing nearby. _Maybe I should ask this guy…_

Edward then spoke, while holding his paper tightly, "Excuse me. I'm looking for the office of technical evaluation. Can you tell me…"

Then, the Fullmetal Alchemist took a good look of the guy he asked. The soldier who was standing guard at a nearby door was very, very HUGE. He had a very distinct posture and was quite muscular. The man also had blonde mustache and a blonde piece of hair that was curled up on his bald-shaped head. What's odd about this man was that he had—sparkles—all over him.

The man saw Edward and soon, the stoic expression that was once on his face turned into a snuggly-happy kind of expression.

Edward, on the other hand, knew who he was and had a very… VERY terrified look on is face.

"**EDWARD ELRIC!!" **

"**GYAAAHHH!! MAJOR ARMSTRONG!!"**

And all you hear was a crack, snap, and a big hug.

* * *

"**Wahahaa!! Hahaha!!"**

Inside the technical evaluation room, a man, about fifty-years of age, sat on an elaborate chair as he chuckled furiously of hearing the news of why Edward was here in South Headquarters. He was a man wearing a nice military outfit than the rest, had dark pressed-in hair, and had an eye patch at the left eye.

He was known as Fuhrer King Bradley, the president of the military and was the absolute president of Amestris also. He was the one in charge of rules around here.

"I'm so glad to see that you're well!" The Fuhrer laughed and smiled.

"Uh-Huh…" Edward could only muttered. The experience of the big hug and everything was too much for him.

Major Alex Louis Armstrong, also known as 'The Strong-Arm Alchemist', spoke up with great pride, "I am honored to have been chosen to escort the Fuhrer President on his inspection of the Southern Headquarters."

"What crummy timing…" Edward commented with a grim expression on his face. Everywhere he had to go, Major Armstrong just HAD to be there.

Major Armstrong was the strong muscular man with the blonde mustache that was curled on his face. He also had sparkles appear out of nowhere around him. Maybe it was because he was so strong and great? Even if he was in the military, where everyone had to be dignified and disciplined, Major Armstrong was a very emotional man, especially to Edward and Alphonse. One time, he also had to escort Edward and Alphonse back to Resembool to get repairs.

Yes, Armstrong was the best escort you could ever have other than being the great Strong-Arm Alchemist everyone has head about. Oh yeah, he also loves flexing his muscles and bragging about some kind of talent that was 'passed down in the Armstrong Generations'. Other than that, Major Armstrong was a great friend to have around. He was very trustworthy too.

"You're here for you assessment, are you?" He questioned Edward.

"Yeah but…" Edward scratched his chin—it was kind of humiliating for him to sort of talk about this kind of matter, especially in front of the Fuhrer President of the military, "I missed the deadline so it's gonna take them a while to process the documents."

"Oh, that's all?" Fuhrer Bradley questioned, seeing the paper that Edward has, "Here, let me see the form you've written."

The Fuhrer skimmed through it, nodding his head now and then until he spoke, "Hand me the seal, please."

Major Armstrong handed it to him as Fuhrer Bradley stamped the form and signed it, "You pass!"

He then gave the form to Edward with a large smile, "Assessment complete!"

"Edward Elric! How fortunate you are!" Major Armstrong added, sparkles suddenly coming out again.

Edward could only go to the abyss of confusion and despair, "Th…That can't be right…"

"Relax!" Fuhrer Bradley told him, "Based on what I've seen of your performance over the years, you would have passed with flying colors. I'm looking forward to seeing you in action again, my dear Fullmetal Alchemist!"

He then continued, "So, did you come to the south area to stir up trouble?"

"N-Not at all!" Edward nervously replied, "I-I'm just visiting my former alchemy teacher in Dublith and I have to go back to see a friend again."

"A friend?" Major Armstrong quirked up an eyebrow, "By gods, Edward Elric, how old are you again…?"

Edward blinked, "I'm fifteen… why?"

Fuhrer Bradley laughed, "You need a girlfriend at that age!"

…_And that was when Edward felt his wounds reopen…_

"WHAT?!" Edward shouted, totally forgetting about the rules of not yelling at a superior officer, "NO WAY!! A girlfriend…? Since when was THIS?"

Chuckling, Fuhrer Bradley spoke, trying to hold off the hilarity, "Calm down, Fullmetal Alchemist, I'm just saying. Now, about your teacher, if she had taught you, then she must be very skilled indeed."

"Skilled, yes," Edward shuddered and then said something else silently, "…And scary!"

Fuhrer Bradley scratched his chin, he seemed sort of interested, "Maybe we should try to recruit her for a State Alchemist position?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Edward declined the sound of his idea and narrowed his eye at the ground.

"You couldn't make her come here if you sent an entire army to fetch her."

* * *

"I've found a lead, Izumi," Mason spoke, coming inside the Curtis' Meat shop with something in his hands, "Yesterday, someone saw Alphonse and Sakura going to the old factory grounds on the west side."

"And after that?" Izumi questioned.

"The person told me that when Alphonse and Sakura went into the old factory, it suddenly collapsed," Mason explained, "Then, some guys who hand out at a bar called 'The Devil's Nest' were carrying a big suit of armor and an unconscious pink-haired girl downstairs of the bar."

_Unconscious…? _Izumi's face was struck with worry now. She had a mental image of Sakura badly hurt and also… Alphonse. Now that she knew of Alphonse's soul bounded into an armor, she couldn't help it but think how helpless he was and how helpless Sakura was.

"The Devil's Nest huh?" The Alchemist of Dublith muttered, placing the dark strands of her hair away from her face as Mason gave her an old cigarette package with the Devil's Nest symbol on it. She immediately stood up.

"Let's go pay them a visit."

* * *

_Outside of Devil's Nest, Dublith;_

Izumi, instead of her usual white-colored outfit, approached the entrance of the Devil's Nest with a black dress-like outfit. She had a hand on her waist as four guys that were outside of the place looked at her suspiciously. Izumi didn't mind; she just thought that these guys were loads of idiots.

"You the broad whose been asking too many questions?" One large man asked her, not liking her presence around here.

Another one spoke up, "If you stick your pretty nick into places it don't belong, it's gonna get cut."

"You guys are classic," Izumi sighed, "Okay, I hear you."

"You'd better turn around before we…"

Izumi just simply stride pass them, without listening to their so-called warnings. "So, who's the guy in charge?"

"Now hold on!!" The goons shouted, "Don't turn your back on us!!"

The goons chased after her but Izumi merely used her two bare hands to flip them around with a single and graceful movement. The three goons hit the ground fast—some on their chest and some on their faces. Izumi scoffed at them and dusted her hands together and continued to walk towards the Devil's Nest.

"Nngh…" One of the goons muttered, "You're pretty good… FOR AN **OLD LADY**!"

'_Old Lady_'… two simple words that Izumi hated that she clapped her hands and slammed it against the nearest wall, creating a large hand that transmuted from it, hitting the bad guys hard, cracking some of their ribs and bones. Izumi simply groaned with frustration. This was truly wasting her time.

"I have nothing to say to you, third-rate goons." She barked at them, walking past them the second time.

One of the goons held their nose in shock, "What is she, some kind of witch?!"

The second goon shouted, "You idiot!! She's an alchemist!"

The third of them yelled, "Quick! Bring our guns!"

Suddenly, from the dark entrance of the Devil's Nest, a rather large, muscular-looking man came out. He had an overly tall physique and his skin was quite otherworldly for it had dark-green pale color to it and plus—there were some kind of scale-like portion of it. It looked like the man was half crocodile and half man, which he was.

"What's the matter?" The pale-green crocodile man hissed, "You guys can't take care of one little mouse?"

"Ulchi!!" The three goons shouted with determination and hope—as if this guy would really save them from the great Alchemist, Izumi.

"Huh?" Ulchi noticed Izumi and then, he began to drool, "Ooh! A girl! I love the girls!"

"You're in for it now!" One of the thugs/goons laughed maniacally, "Ulchi ain't like the rest of us! He's got crocodile blood runnin' through his veins!"

"He's a beast!! A real monster!!"

Ulchi, the so-called monster, stared at Izumi with such flirtatious yet psychopathic eyes, "Sexy lady… you walked into a **bad** part of town."

Soon, Ulchi the Crocodile-Human Hybrid approached her, his claws sharpened and ready to scar Izumi half and half…

"…So don't blame me if you get hurt!!" Ulchi screeched.

**WHAM!!**

A large fist came out of nowhere as Ulchi's face was whirled around, blood squirting out from his lips as he fell to the ground to look up at the person who had punched him. The person revealed to be, not Izumi, but her husband, Sig Curtis. And from the looks of it, he was very unhappy, especially with the steam coming out of his ears. _Oh god…_

Izumi's gentle giant husband—who didn't seem that gentle anymore—approaches Ulchi with his large, clenched fist.

"Oh, honey, you came?" Izumi said plainly, not even shocked or any other emotions that she would feel in that situation.

**BAM! CRACK! WHAM!**

"Get your eyes off my woman, you creep!" Sig barked at Ulchi as his fists came at him at every single part of his body, letting the blood squirt endlessly from his strong 'crocodile-like' skin. Ulchi was getting bashed up and every bone in his body was absolutely breaking. He wasn't the strongest one in the place now…

"Aw, it's sweet of you to call me 'your woman'," Izumi blushed, as if it was the most romantic thing Sig ever said, "But you don't have to say it so loud!"

_He's a monster!! _The other goons thought, scared to death now.

Moments later, after Sig finished up Ulchi and dragged him down the ground, Izumi crossed her arms, "Well? Who's going to tell us what we want to know?"

However, the goons did not want to back down and all of them shouted, "Y-You wish!!"

"W-We'll never rat out our friends!!"

"Get 'em!!"

* * *

Izumi and Sig clapped their hands to get the dirt out as below them, the thugs and the goons were injured badly and were obviously defeated by the Curtis Couple. They did not know how to get up because if they did, they'd be cracking the last of their bones. Yes, the Devil Nest's thugs—were mortifyingly defeated and had clearly lost to Izumi and Sig Curtis.

"What did you do with the armor boy and the pink-haired girl?!" Izumi screamed at one of the thugs, who was Ulchi, as she grabbed his collar, "If you don't tell me I'll—,"

The bloodied and damaged Ulchi smirked, "Heh! You'll do **what**?"

"**I'll vomit blood all over you."** Izumi puked out some gallons of blood on Ulchi as she held him tight by the collar.

"**GYAAAGH!! GROSS!!"**

* * *

"All right, just clear your mind…"

Back with the young, chained Alphonse Elric, one of Greed's followers were trying to help Alphonse retrace his memories of when he committed Human Transmutation and when he was transmuted to be in an armor. The follower was holding a match with flames and was gently shifting it right and left, trying to trace the memory by hypnotism. Alphonse just reluctantly and patiently watched.

"That's right…" The follower nodded his head, moving the match, "Just like that. Look into the flame."

The follower then shifted one of his hands to keep Alphonse in focus as he spoke, "Think back to when you were 10. Go back… back to that day when your soul was transmuted."

Alphonse stared for a minute into the flame, just watching as the red, orange, and yellow color moved around in one area. He stared and stared—just trying to follow what the guy had told him. The follower hoped it was going all right and Alphonse was able to remember or grasp the memory that was locked in the deep recesses of his mind and if Alphonse was able to accomplish that… they would know the secrets of Immortality.

Alphonse tilted his head and hesitantly spoke, "Nope! Now working!"

_Sigh…_

"You sure you're doing it right?" Greed questioned, scratching his chin, "I was certain hypnosis would do the trick."

"I don't know, boss." The follower shook his head, "This is my first time trying it on a guy like him."

Then, unexpectedly, one of the guys—who clearly looked like a hot head—came up and offered, "What a waste of time. Greed, just take him apart and let me analyze him. I can do a little alchemy myself."

As soon as Alphonse had heard that, he simply 'hmphed' and turned his head away from the man who had just said that.

"If you're going to do that," Alphonse spoke with a hard voice, "You should at least bring someone with the skills of a State Alchemist."

"I don't want to be dissected by _**amateurs**_." Alphonse said to them harshly.

Greed was quite shock at what Alphonse had said and smirked with agreement, "Whoa! Kid's got a point!"

However, the guy who offered to dissect him, didn't seem pleased, "Hmph! Yeah 'nerves of steel ' right? I like guys like you."

Rapidly, the man grabbed Alphonse's helmet and glared at him, tightening the grip, "What I don't like… is you acting like you're not afraid!"

He growled at him as the man's hands started to form into monstrous like claws, "I can rip you apart with my bear hands. You want that?"

Alphonse stayed quiet but continued to stare through the man's eyes.

Greed, however, interrupted him, "Calm down. He's our only lead."

The man calmed down but he still didn't like Alphonse's certain attitude and turned his head away from him and sighed.

_Rrmmb…_

A sudden noises started to crumble from the outside walls of the storage room as Alphonse, even Greed and Greed's followers started to look around, wondering what could've caused the sudden noise from the surface. Alphonse didn't look around though that much—for he knew who was coming to get him.

"There's only one thing that I'm afraid of," Alphonse spoke and if he had lips, the boy would've smirked.

The crumbling and grumbling became louder and louder.

Alphonse continued, "…And speaking of that thing… here it comes."

It grew quiet for a moment as Greed and everyone else looked around frantically and when they assumed it was absolutely nothing, they shrugged…

…**BOOM!**

From one of the walls of the storage room, a door suddenly was transmuted out of nowhere, creating cracks and lightning from the surrounding area of it. Greed's followers jumped up in surprise and were astonished of how it could do that instantaneously. The followers and even Greed turned around to see the door creak and open slowly and gradually.

"Huh?" Everyone seemed to say, their eyes broadening with bewilderment and fright.

"Sorry to barge in," A terrifying voice spoke as Greed, his followers, and even Alphonse turned to see who it was.

The Elric Brothers' teacher, Izumi Curtis stepped into the scene, dragging an injured man by one hand.

Only wearing toilet sandals, Izumi still stood strong with determination and pride as she walked towards Greed and his henchmen. She had no fear or hesitation about them, just as long as she retrieves Alphonse and Sakura out of there. Just by walking in they're with her hard and stern face, her presence already caused anxiety to the rest of the people in the room.

"H…Hey!" One of the henchmen spoke out. "What the hell…?"

Izumi merely ignored what they had to say and lifted up the injured man she was dragging. She then threw the man all the way to Alphonse, causing a large BAM on Alphonse's armor.

"**YOU STUPID MORON!"** Izumi screamed at Alphonse when she had thrown the injured man at his armored face.

Alphonse could only shake in fear as Izumi continued to yell at him, "How the hell could you let yourself and Sakura get kidnapped?!"

"I-I-I'm S-Sorry!" Alphonse cried and if he had a face and human body, he'd be crying and begging hysterically to Izumi.

And oddly, throughout all this, the pink-haired kunoichi Sakura slept peacefully at the corner, oblivious of the whole situation.

"YOU ARE TO PROTECT SAKURA AND LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Izumi shouted even louder while Alphonse's armored body vibrated because of the loud sound waves she was making.

"Hey!!" One of the henchmen yelled at Izumi, "We're the ONES asking questions around here!!"

Dorchet then joined in with the yelling, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Izumi's simple reply?

"**I'M A HOUSEWIFE!!"**

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, this chapter wasn't the best because I was being crammed by homework and studies and I had been having problems with situating this one because most of it is in the manga and I'm trying to convert it in story form and with Naruto in it. This chapter was a little rushed because it was either I wasn't concentrating as straight as I thought I would or it didn't seem important to me (however, it was!)**

**So I apologize with the less descriptions and possibly a lot of grammar errors. I tried to concentrate on the character dialogue and everything. And I also apologize that Sakura-chan hasn't woke up quite yet… I mean… she wasn't even able to have dialogue yet. Trust me, she will, in the next chapter, hopefully!**

**So to conclude this, here are my review replies!**

**Silent Kill: **Goodness, what a pretty long review you had given me that it took me like five to seven minutes to read slowly and register it in my mind! Wow! I've never gotten such a long review and you may be the first. So, to repay the time of you making a long review, I will try and make a long reply to you, okay?

Thanks for the compliment about the plot I've decided to make! Before this story was even typed down, I was examining in other crossovers in and I was trying to pin point what I should do and what I should not do. It took me a while to plan it all out to result into this story. I had to read fanfiction of the two animes, Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist, read the mangas, watch the anime episodes, and research further on the two of them, trying to make them balance out each other before I truly had to write. I also had to watch some music videos (though I didn't know where THAT came in, I guess it was just giving me some hopeful inspiration, you know?)

Why I picked Sakura? Well, Sakura had never been much in spotlight in crossover stories—and I love Sakura to death! Her character and how she develops in the Naruto series just makes me want to write something more about her and whatnot. She's practically the only character in Naruto that we can all relate to because she is human. Usually, in most crossover stories, she's either not in character, side-character, or even being bashed, which I don't like. Plus, its not just Sakura, but all the characters in crossover could sometimes be OOC. I want all the characters to have equal positions, even the ones that just have a two-minute appearance.

Both the main characters from both anime, Naruto and Edward will have great positions. No main character will over power the other. That is what I vowed. Romance? Yes, I picked Edward and Sakura with each other because they're practically compatible and plausible (read my opinions of why Edward and Sakura could be a great crossover couple in my profile). Not only that, but because they look adorable with each other!

Ahem, yes, everyone's been correcting me with the 'door' thing at the previous chapter and as you see, I changed it in your form. Thank you! Oh, and the comic book thing… Yes, I know corny, I must be drunk with soda that day to start off that thing—but that's all I could think of! Please bear with me! –begs-

All and all, thanks for taking your time to review and I hope you had enjoyed this chapter and send me another long review!

**oOo TripWire XD oOo:** Sorry that your rice noodles went bye-bye… XD. Finally! Someone has respect for the three chimeras! Thank you! And don't worry, Edward will be the knight in shining armor to rescue his fellow brother and the damsel in distress—Haruno Sakura! Thanks for the review!

**Dria-chan's Tayu-kun:** GREED! GREED! Can't get enough with the smexy homunculus now can you? Thanks for the review!

**ponies1998:** Yes, Sakura-chan—maybe she is but you don't know really… if she is what she seems she is… wait, that didn't make sense did it? XP.

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** Thanks for the grammar errors, Allie, YEAH. FROM YOU. XD. Kidding, thanks for pointing that out—I'll fix it for you!

**healing alchemist:** Don't worry, hopefully, everything will work out with Sakura… maybe, its my decision. XD.

**The-Living-Shadow:** Yes—the stone, maybe, not sure. XD. Um, yes, I'm mixing it with the manga and anime and everything!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Wow, finally interested in the Naruto world? I'm glad! Everyone seems to pay attention to the FMA part than Naruto so thanks! Yeah, I'm excited for Ed to come in soon so you better watch out for Ed's coming to town! XP.

**Phew! That took long! Please review everyone! I want a goal of over 150 reviews! Make it come true!**


	13. Chapter 13: His Unequal Exchange

**A/N: I give to you chapter thirteen of 'Renkinjutsu'. This time, unlike the last chapter, is carefully planned out and concentrated on. I knew I lacked on the last chapter so let's look forward to reading this, shall we? Oh yeah, don't forget, if you reviewed, I might have replied to it! The replies are at the bottom!**

**Oh yeah, sorry for the late update… I've been just so busy… Gomen!**

**Please, review but no flames, however, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot and the original characters that are not associated with the original series are mine.

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen—His Unequal Exchange**_

* * *

"_There __comes a time…_

_When every life goes off course…_

_In this desperate moment…_

_You must choose your direction. _**_Will you fight_**_ to stay on the path?"_

—_**Unknown**_

* * *

_In one of the alchemy books I read, they talked about something called a Homunculus… an artificial human being…_

_But it said that it's forbidden to create a human being using alchemy._

**"_No one's ever made a Homunculus!" Alphonse Elric shouted, "It's impossible! That can't be!"_**

_Also, in the books I used to read with my brother, that the Philosopher's Stone—even if it was the key to immortality and it does not abide with the rules and laws of alchemy, it was still impossible to make and the reason to that was because it will take a lot of sacrifices—human sacrifices._

_And to think that no one will create a true Philosopher's Stone…_

**"_What're you saying?!" Alphonse tried to sit up from his position but the chains were holding it back and not to mention Martel was there to heavy the weight out, "The Philosopher's Stone is either a crimson liquid substance or a stone that was created from thousands of Human Beings! The Philosopher's Stone can't be… it's too impo—,"_**

_Why? Why does it have to be this way? Why does making the Philosopher's Stone or the Philosopher's Stone's reactions kill many innocent people? Like they said, in legends, that the Philosopher's Stone can destroy a whole city in one night. And plus, the Philosopher's Stone's main ingredient were human lives…_

"_**Nothing is impossible," Greed said, "And the proof is standing right in front of you."**_

_And why… why does it have to be Sakura…?_

* * *

Izumi had rigorously flipped the last person henchman standing, Loa, as she bashed his head on the ground, making his forehead starts to bleed. The female alchemist grunted; she had never seen so many criminals that could actually try and step in front of her when they very well know that they cannot win against her. _Such imprudence. _Izumi thought simply, spraining Loa's arm in the process as he was already on the floor.

Around the room, the rest of Greed's followers or henchmen were already down. Most of them were against the wall, head on the ground, and some were thrown all the way to the other side of the room. All of them were also bloodied up, bruised, and sprained. Luckily, Izumi didn't go as far as to breaking their ribs, legs, or bones in the process. She merely wanted to bring them down, just to show them how powerful she was—and not an 'old lady'.

"Hey, hey, _**hey**_,"

The Curtis female turned around to drop Loa's sprained arm as she glared, seeing the person standing next to Alphonse and the one person she hadn't fought yet or taken to the ground—Greed. Izumi glared at him, wishing that she 'd gotten him first than to take care of the goons that were around the room.

Greed lazily looked at her as if she was nothing but a mere woman in front of him, "That's harsh, lady. You didn't even give us a warning."

"You in charge here?" Izumi scoffed, stretching and cracking her knuckles, "I'm here to repay you for taking such good care of my friends."

She then took steps towards him, her hands on her hips. As she approached him, Izumi's dark eyes were watching Alphonse, who seemed to be hesitating inside. She simply smiled at him a bit but her eyes signaled that there was going to be a 'long, violent lecture' about the situation he and Sakura were placed in. Alphonse gasped a quietly; he knew he was going to get killed by that lecture.

Izumi then turned her head to Sakura, who she noticed was sleeping soundly in the corner. She was bewildered and shocked of how Sakura was heavily knocked out and unconscious that she didn't hear her yelling, the punches, the kicks, and every sound that had just occurred in the room recently. In Izumi's perspective, it was a lucky thing that Sakura was able to sleep through everything at that moment. She didn't want the pink-haired girl waking up during the fights and she hoped she would not wake up at what was going to happen.

Finally, Izumi looked up at Greed and crossed her arms, a frown placed upon her lips, "Now, I'm taking them back, got it?"

"I can't allow that," Greed replied, no fear in his eyes at the strong and stern woman standing in front of him.

**WHAM!**

"Okay then," Izumi answered, back fisting Greed on his cheek. At first, the teacher of the Elric Brothers thought she had broken Greed's cheek or demolished a part of his face because of her strong fist and power. Izumi was always confident of herself in her fighting skills. She made sure of that. She always balanced her punches with strong energy and everything in between.

But now—something went wrong. When she had punched Greed… the soft skin she had thought to have pressed through became something hard, like metal, well, stronger than metal. Her eyes had widened when she noticed there was a strong, jolting reactions on her knuckles and hands—she felt it crack and somehow, break into pieces.

She tried not to scream in pain, however. Izumi was stronger than that and instead, all she could do was stand still and look at Greed, who's cheek and face was being covered by something odd and hard. Her eyes had widened—what was this…? What was she seeing? Could it be something real?

"You sure like surprises… don't you lady?" Greed smirked, noticing how Izumi was still after she had punched him straight on the face. There was hardly any reaction and all there was to hear was Izumi's knuckles cracking and breaking. Alphonse's 'eyes' broadened; his teacher was hurt!

"So do I," Greed continued, his smirk widening as the certain hard substance surfaced on his punched cheek, "Your fingers… are they broken?"

Izumi hardly had time to retract her clenched hand back as Greed slapped it away with his strong, muscular arm. The Alchemist of Dublith withdrew immediately, stepping back and placing her agonized hand away from Greed. When she did, she noticed that her hand was bleeding and the knuckles were not in order by her fingers. Whatever she had hit—it was strong enough to do that with her hand.

"Teacher!" Alphonse shouted, concerned. Izumi simply ignored that.

She did not express any pain or throb on her face. She kept her face emotionless and tried to make her voice monotone as she can when she would speak because she did not want to use weakness in front of her enemies. That was what Izumi always believed in and she had vowed never to express that kind of emotion in front of enemies.

As for Greed, he was fascinated at Izumi was fast and how she did not gasp, tremble, or hesitate when she felt her hand cracked into pieces by just punching him. Greed knew that this woman was truly something else and not just because she was an alchemist, but she was also full of strength and determination to achieve her goal. _I like people like that… _

"Give it a rest will you?" Greed simply spoke to her with such a sinister voice as he regenerated back fully to his normal self, "I don't fight women."

Izumi quirked up an eyebrow as she held her pained hand close to her, "You've got a rather unique body."

"Ain't that the truth," Greed replied, proud of who he was, "It takes more than you can deal out to scratch this hide."

Well, it was true. In Greed's point of view, no one could ever find his true weakness or how to place a single scratch on him. He was Homunculus, an inhuman being that is somewhat made from human materials. They were people he were outsiders from the human world yet they were like a second type of human. Greed was quite overconfident about that yet, he still wanted more power…

As Alphonse sat and watch his teacher and Greed confronting each other, it made him think about his older brother, who was currently away to do some State Alchemist Business. _Brother, where are you…? _Alphonse sighed inwardly for a moment until he had remembered something that he needed to ask his teacher.

"…Ah!" Alphonse spoke out loud, "Where's Ed? Did my brother come with you, teacher?!"

Perplexity was the emotion expressed on Izumi's face until she realized that Alphonse needed his brother. She shook her head.

"No, he hasn't come back yet," She replied with a soft tone of voice. She was still holding her hand tight, it was getting on her nerves that tons of blood were drifting out from the wounds.

Soon, Greed also had perplexity written all over his face, "Huh? I thought you said that your big brother was dead?"

Oh, so Greed DID think Alphonse's older brother, Edward, was dead. I mean who can't blame Alphonse of how he says when someone's gone away?

Alphonse 'blinked', "I never said that!"

He then turned to his teacher, panic all over his 'eyes', "Teacher! He's a Homunculus!"

Greed's eyes went stunned as he looked at Alphonse, his face now expressed in panic, "Hey… why'd you hafta go and tell her?"

Being a Homunculus was Greed's secret and he expected Alphonse not to tell—it ends up that he did. Now, Greed probably assumes that Izumi would grow more into suspicion and concern that she'll stay here and ruin the plan. The Greedy Homunculus slapped himself on the forehead, unable to look over things for a while.

"Wh…What are you saying…?" Izumi was always quite flabbergasted and confused about this whole thing that Alphonse had just said. She was an alchemist herself and like all alchemists, they did not believe the whole Human Transmutation and a Homunculus actually existing. She thought that it was forbidden and it could never be done.

If it were, there would be a lot of sacrifices to be made. _What… a Homunculus?_

"There's more than that, teacher…!" Alphonse expanded—not caring if Greed's so-called 'secret' of being a Homunculus was broken. "He might know a way for us to get our original bodies back! I need to tell my brother right away!!"

"He's really… a Homunculus?" Izumi felt her hair sticking out. She still did not quite comprehend about the 'Homunculus' thing and was unable to focus.

Greed sighed and faced Alphonse, supposedly trying to interrogate, "What? You want your old body back? But the one you have now is so much more useful."

"No it's not!!" Alphonse countered with such a loud voice. No offense to Greed, but why does Alphonse have to be surrounded by dense idiots (except his teacher of course)?

Shaking her head, Izumi was able to get back on track with her thoughts and the events that are currently happening, "So, all we have to do is beat him up until he spill his guts?"

"Well, I guess but…" Alphonse soon freaked when he sees his teacher's hand bleeding badly, "**AAAAH**! Teacher you're hurt!! Don't do it!! Don't do it!!"

"Uh-huh… plus, I really don't like beating up women." Greed added, crossing his arms and nodding.

He then explained, pointing to Alphonse, "I just wanna know how his soul was transmuted."

"Why do you need to know about that?" Izumi questioned seriously, still kind of glaring at Greed and was ready to punch him at any time, even if her hand was already bleeding from the first attempt.

"**Oh, to hell with this, Greed!!**" Dorchet yelled, standing up from the beaten up position he was moments ago, "Why don't I just slice this broad up and—,"

**BAM!** Izumi had punched him before he was even about to say anything further. This really annoyed her and she didn't have time to fight with the other 'weaklings' who were Greed's followers in the room.

"Dorchet!!" The other criminals cried after poor Dorchet was punched right on the face.

Greed then placed a hard grip around Alphonse's armored head, getting straightforward and serious now, "C'mon! It ain't that hard!"

The Homunculus smirked, his lavender-like eyes staring straight through Izumi's dark ones, "How about this? I'll show him how to create a Homunculus… and his brother will teach me how to transmute a soul. Got it?"

Izumi's teeth gritted together as she heard what Greed had in plan, "So you wanna make a deal, huh?"

"Let's call it an 'Equivalent Exchange'," Greed leered coolly, "I'd like to keep things civil."

Countering back immediately, Izumi shouted, "You think I'm gonna make deals with a kidnapper? Don't make me—!"

"Teacher!!" Alphonse yelled, actually interrupting and opposing his own Master, "Please!! Bring Ed here!!"

His armored head bowed down, looking at his own hands that were bounded by chains, "Please, just get him. This is… the chance we've been waiting for…"

Yes, it was true, and Alphonse couldn't believe it one bit. He and his brother, Edward, had been journeying for years now, just to accomplish their goal of bring their bodies back. Each and every time they get in a position that they thought would finally achieve their goal; it always ends up ruined or a complete false deception. But now, someone was offering them a chance—a chance that can get them back to normal in two minutes tops.

Hearing all about this, Izumi merely looked at Alphonse, trying to read his expression. Even if Alphonse was in an emotionless suit of armor, Izumi knows that his own soul was human-like to show expression through the expressionless face. She knows her own students as if it were her own sons and that is how she knew Alphonse very well. She knew that he and his brother wanted to get back to normal, back to their normal lives…

Placing one hand on her hip, she sighed softly, not knowing what else to say, "Your name's Greed right?"

Greed looked up and nods plainly.

Even if she was caught up in this whole situation with Alphonse, she didn't forget about the pink-haired girl that was currently blocked out from the events and was currently knocked out in a deep sleep. Izumi looked towards Sakura and Alphonse looked over her too. They couldn't forget about, they just didn't.

"Is it just Alphonse you want?" Izumi asked, her voice becoming harder and still, "Because I would be willing to take the pink-haired girl, Sakura, out of here."

"Oh yeah!" Greed's eyes blinked and also glanced at Sakura, "I almost forgot about her…"

The Homunculus scratched his chin as he carefully approached Sakura. Izumi watched this and he wanted Greed not to do anything to her, so she kept her fists clenched and for Alphonse, he was ready to do any transmutation he can if Greed does anything.

Greed then crouched down to take a look at Sakura's serene sleeping face and grinned malevolently, "Ah, she's the most important one in this stage of plan."

"And why is she the most important?!" Izumi screamed, quickly worried and angered of what Greed was about to do with her, "If you lay a single dirty finger on that, girl, I swear I'll—,"

"Teacher!" Alphonse spoke out against her again, slightly quivering in the armor, "D-Don't worry… I'll protect Sakura in the meantime, I promise."

The Alchemist of Dublith calmed down in Alphonse's words as she faced him, pleading to take care of the girl. Izumi knew that Sakura had something in her that could be full of power and she wanted Alphonse to keep her safe. With just one look on her face, Izumi signaled that she was placing her trust upon him for Sakura's life and she wished Alphonse to be strong at all times.

As Alphonse looked at her, he saw what message she was trying to send and nodded, mumbling a 'yes'.

Izumi smiled quickly at him and turned back to Greed, "…As an alchemist, I prefer to create things. I don't like saying things like this, ever…"

She then turned her back to him and slightly whirled her head, a menacing and threatening glare in her eyes, "**If anything happens to that boy and that girl… I won't hesitate to destroy you.**"

Not feeling terrified at all, Greed simply shrugged and smirked. Izumi breathed out an angry sigh as she walked out of the room; the hand that she punched Greed with was still bleeding. She stormed out and as she did, her loud footsteps were heard outside the door. The henchmen, Greed, and Alphonse watched as those footsteps fade away—yet the sounds were forever embedded in their mind.

Patting a hand behind Alphonse's back, Greed commented, "_Wow_… your teacher's really somethin' else."

"Uh…" Alphonse slightly shook after Greed had said that comment, "Thanks…?"

The armored Elric then turned his head towards Sakura, who slightly quivered when she was asleep. Alphonse smiled inside, though; he knew that Sakura was _his_ responsibility now. He had to protect her and if he failed, Izumi would never forgive him. He can't even imagine a girl like her being taken apart surgically for analysis of whatever was inside her.

From the very start, Alphonse knew there was something she was hiding. It was pretty obvious because of how she looked different and how her own presence was different around people. Nonetheless, Sakura was very kind to him and cared about him and his brother's many problems. No wonder why Izumi didn't want someone like her to be in danger.

But, there was still one thing that was nagging Alphonse in his head. _Is it true…? Is it true what Greed said that Sakura is the true Philosopher's Stone…? _There were no other options because the riddle easily matched her and plus, it was kind of odd that she popped out of nowhere in their lives after they had received that riddle days ago after Laboratory Five's incident.

It was all too far-fetched yet… it might be true.

_What will I tell brother…?_

* * *

"I'm kind of hungry, do you guys have any food?" Naruto questioned, his stomach still aching ever since they had started to scout out for Dante's house. The blonde-haired Genin felt his stomach grumbling and pleading to have food—specifically ramen of course. Ever since childhood, the only food that was ever very acceptable to Naruto's appetite was Ramen, especially the kind of Ramen from the Ichiraku Ramen Shop at Konohagure.

After Naruto asked that question, Sasuke, Hinata, and even, Kimiko had to bow down their faces because of the humiliating blonde knuckleheaded idiot who only wanted to think about food at this very moment. They wondered if he could ever at least get fully serious, particularly in a predicament like this? I mean, it was Naruto that proposed they should search for Dante and ask questions about the Graphic Novel that supposedly sucked Sakura in.

"Is all you can think about food?" Kimiko questioned, groaning. She had never seen a ninja as dense as Naruto before and she wasn't even a ninja herself!

"Hey, hey," Naruto's cerulean eyes shifted to the dark-haired newcomer, "I didn't have any food since this morning and plus, I had to do some training! Besides, its usually about the right time to eat right now!"

"Naruto…" Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You are such an idiot."

"Shut up, teme!" The Uzumaki growled at him. Any day… Naruto just wanted to punch the Uchiha out a window.

The three ninjas, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuuga, were currently being shown around Dante's house. The three of them were so fascinated at the different styles of the home—it was as if Dante was from another country, or from another world perhaps. There were shelves of books in each room, study desks, and dark velvet carpeting. They noticed that most of the windows were somewhat covered by heavy curtain, as if it was blocking out all the sunlight.

And what the ninjas had noticed, there was this distinct smell of peppermint and spice. They didn't know why the scent was heavily weighed around the room or why it caused tension around the place. It just felt so—unexplainable, even to the smartest ninja around the room, Sasuke.

The place was the same as before. It had distinct shadows that hid in the corners of the rooms around the house and there were many mysterious things that lurks from all over the place. He never fully went in the house, since he was only looking through a window. But it felt like, he had been here before. Sasuke felt himself in an inner confusion and an inner rage for some reason.

_Why do I feel this way? _The Uchiha shook his head as he kept his dark eyes on Kimiko and the woman, Dante, who was right in front of them, showing the house. He tried to examine them carefully, just trying to read of what they were probably thinking. In Sasuke's perspective, Kimiko seemed quite plain and ordinary—a typical average Jane Doe. However, her presence was different, it wasn't like Dante's, it was annoying. But from deep within the Uchiha's thoughts, she stuck out of the crowd for she was the first ever person to ever confront him with that.

_Hn—such a stupid girl. _Sasuke shrugged a little bit and then, switched his eye attention to Dante, who's back was currently turned to them. He didn't like her at all. He didn't like how she acted. And to get to the bottom point, he really, really didn't like her. Sasuke just wanted to grasp what she has to think and what she has to say. I mean, a woman like her could stand against his father, Fugaku, but he won't let that happen. She will not stand against him, **Sasuke Uchiha**. _A vile woman…_

"So, you're from the Uchiha clan…" Dante spoke with a soft yet mind-shaking voice to Sasuke.

Sasuke's face perked up to see that Dante was talking to him and only him.

He only turned his head slightly away from facing Dante's back, "Yes, I'm from the Uchiha Clan."

"I've met your father a few years ago…" She continued.

Sasuke felt his dark eyes widened slightly but then, it became soother, "…I know…"

"He was quite interested in alchemy to put it frankly," Dante said, the conversation getting apprehensive between the two, "Are you interested in alchemy, such as him?"

His eyes widened again, this time, it was of pure shock. He tried to turn his head farther away from the woman who was standing in front of him. Why? Why did every question she would ask would stop him in his tracks? Sasuke didn't know how to comprehend anything at the moment as he felt his hands tremble and tried to loosen up just for one bit. He didn't want to signal any weakness towards the Dante woman.

"No." Sasuke replied curtly, his dark eyes scanning at her, "I don't want to learn such art."

"Really?" Dante turned her face to him, her light-colored eyes staring through his dark ones, "But you hunger power. Surely, you would want to learn something that differs from what you would usually learn."

He felt something slammed through his chest that made Sasuke breath heavily for a moment as he shifted his hand to grasp his chest. The way she looked at him like that and the way she had responded to him in a quick way made Sasuke realize something about the woman that was leading him through the house and the woman—that criticize his father harshly.

He realized something dangerous—something… out of hand.

It was not only Sasuke that had felt that kind of feeling but it was also Naruto and Hinata. Naruto had eventually turned his head to face the Uchiha to understand what was going on and he also felt that throbbing ache inside of him—a pain he could not be aware of. The pain felt worse than being stabbed by a kunai, a shuriken, or a katana. The pain felt like it was so—it could make you somehow knocked out and blocked out from the whole world. That was what Naruto felt.

As for Hinata, she felt a sheer of terror overcome her body. She was listening to the conversation between Sasuke and Dante and immediately, her frail body felt the sudden tension and the sudden anxiousness that Dante was releasing against Sasuke. She could also feel the pain that both Naruto and Sasuke were currently experiencing. Since Hinata was somewhat the weaker of the two, she felt it spreading throughout her body quickly and she tried to breath in and out to calm the pain down.

Watching them suffer, Dante simply smirked quietly but then, to hide it, she smiled confusingly, "Well, this is the whole house… I think it's the best for you three to leave."

Meanwhile, for Kimiko, she simply tilted her head and looked up to her Master, confused at what was going on. Dante gave her a glance—a glance that told her not to interfere. Kimiko obediently nodded and stayed put, unable to oppose her Teacher/Master.

"H-Hold on, lady!" Naruto managed to speak out, even if he felt the thickening feeling around him, "W-We still have a lot of questions to ask you and plus, we never wanted to tour the house in the first place!"

Sasuke had to agree and nodded weakly, "Yes, we don't want a tour—we want out questions answered."

_Oh, right—I nearly forgot… _Dante sighed quietly under her breath, displeased.

"Yes…" Dante scratched her chin and turned her back to them again, leading them deeper into her house, "There is something… I should show you… first."

"Well, show it now—," Naruto felt his stomach grumbled that it interrupted what he was about to say and instead…

"Well… show us the food, now." The Uzumaki felt his mouth drool as he was in complete daze. He really wanted food right now.

Sasuke, Hinata, and Kimiko sweat dropped while Dante nodded and showed the ninjas to the kitchen…

* * *

_"Now Arriving in Dublith…"_

"_Welcome to Dublith Station! Good luck in your destination!"_

"_Phew_…" Edward slowly walked out from the Dublith Station, unbuckling the buckle that attached his coat, trying to release the heat away from his clothes. He felt large gallons of sweat sliding down his tan-apricot cheeks as he tried to shake away the bangs that covered his face. Carrying his suitcase tight with one hand, Edward tried to organize himself properly and walked towards his teacher's house.

"It sure is hot out here," The blonde alchemist groaned, using his hand to wipe off the sweat, "But… at least the assessment didn't take as long as I expected."

It only took him one and half day to get his assessment processed, thanks to the Fuhrer President around the area. He never expected someone that superior to actually scan through the assessment paper he wrote on the train and accepted it like Timbuktu or something like that—he really didn't. Edward always thought of himself as one of those minor State Alchemists…

_Well, I was the youngest… so; it's not a minor thing. _Edward shook his head and then placed his hand in his pocket, rummaging through it to find what he was looking for—his State Alchemist Pocket watch.

The State Alchemist Pocket Watch, not only tells time (duh), but it is a symbol of authority and a symbol of rank. You see… the State Alchemist Pocket Watch comes with the State Alchemist verification certificate and the grant to access all-important documents, places, and traveling fees. The Pocket Watch was also a verification object to prove that you are a State Alchemist.

_I hope this year… _Edward then grasped the Pocket Watch tightly into his fist, as if it was a symbol of hope. _I hope this year… we can finally get our bodies back._

Edward will never go back on his word. When he said he'd get their bodies back—they _will_ get their bodies back. The Elric Brothers had been traveling for years to accomplish that one goal and they will achieve that goal, no matter how many sacrifices they will have to make. Edward smiled proudly as he was on his way to visit his teacher, Alphonse… and Sakura.

"Hell of a town, this Dublith," a voice said, "**Hell **of a town!"

The Fullmetal Alchemist heard a familiar voice and looked up. _I wonder who could that be…? Must be a…_

"Lovely place, don't you think, my dear Fullmetal Alchemist?" Fuhrer President of the Military King Bradley shouted and laughed his signature '_wahahaha_' laugh as Edward tumbled over with distress and uncertainty.

Instead of wearing the blue, military uniform, Fuhrer Bradley was wearing a red, vacation tropical polo and was wearing a sun hat. Alongside him was Major Alex Louis Armstrong, who was carrying Fuhrer Bradley's luggage.

Edward scrambled up from the ground, still trembling humorously with shock, "Wh… Wh… What are you…?" He tried to find the right words but the sudden surprise had astounded him wildly.

Fuhrer Bradley tilted his head and replied, "What do you mean, 'what'? I came here to meet your teacher, of course."

He then held up a large watermelon and handed it to him (which Edward took without a choice), "Here, have this. Do you like melons?"

"Uh… thanks." Edward replied bluntly, still confused and wide-eyed about the supreme leader of the military being here, "Aggh! You can't be serious!"

The blonde alchemist was raging with both anger and the inability to figure out the whole circumstances. First, he had to do a last minute assessment to save him and his brother's asses from being kicked out of the military and running out of research money. Second, he had to meet up with Major Alex Louis Armstrong and get a big bear hug crack from him. Finally, when he came to Dublith, he did not know that Major Armstrong AND the President of the Military followed him to get his teacher.

Edward slammed his hand on his forehead and screamed, "YOU FOLLOWED ME ONTO THE TRAIN?!"

Major Armstrong crossed his finger triumphantly, "Hmh, hmh! Following a child is no challenge for me!"

Then, another pack of sparkles came out from Major Armstrong; "**I merely used the secret tracking skills that have been passed down in the Armstrong Family for Generations!**"

"I can't take this anymore…" Edward was at the corner of shame.

* * *

"Pork tenderloin, 128 sens for 100 grams!"

It was at the Curtis' Local Meat Shop where Fuhrer Bradley, Major Armstrong, and Edward had arrived. Fuhrer Bradley was at the counter, asking the soft-spoken yet humongous Sig, of where Izumi was. Of course, Sig, knowing that his wife would decline a request from the military and would not become a State Alchemist at all.

"I'm here to see Izumi," Fuhrer Bradley said, smiling brightly, "Fetch her for me, would you, my good man?"

"Chicken breast, 160 sens!" Sig replied, being ignorant to his demand.

Placing his hand on the counter and smiling even more brightly, Fuhrer Bradley continued to press on the poor Sig, "I've hear that she's quite skilled in the art of alchemy…"

"Beef Shoulder, 200 sens!" Sig ignored him, again.

"Has she considered applying for a State Alchemist's License?" Fuhrer Bradley asked, not giving up.

"Beef/Pork Combo, 98 sens!" Sig twitched, very annoyed right now and his fists clenching.

Major Armstrong oversaw this and decided to interrupt politely, "Hmh… it seems I have no choice. Sir, please allow me to handle this."

"Very well, Major Armstrong," Fuhrer Bradley nods his head, "But please don't do anything rash to this fine, muscle man of an owner."

"You, the stubborn owner of this Butcher Shop!!" Major Armstrong shouted with his stern and high-powered voice. Major Armstrong then grabbed his military coat and threw it off his body, showing off his "wonderful" muscles, "Gaze upon the true beauty of a State Alchemist!!"

Flexing the muscle towards Sig's face, Major Armstrong grinned, " Carve this into your eyeballs!"

Another bunch of sparkles came out from Major Armstrong as he kept pumping up his large and handsome muscles at Sig's face while Fuhrer Bradley was very fascinated at how this going to continue.

As for Sig, he watched as Major Armstrong was increasing his muscle's growth and then, he tilted his head and let out a small 'hmm…'. Examining closely, Sig seemed to have noticed something and with a great turn, Sig pumped up his own muscles, flexing it and making it larger like Major Armstrong, causing his shirt to rip off.

"Hrm!?" Major Armstrong noticed the reaction he had gotten from Sig and the two of them battled it out with their muscular physique…

There were no punches, kicks, elbowing, or any kind of fighting involved. It was simply flexing their muscles and trying to make it bigger than it should have been. Not only that, there were hidden body language signals that were from the muscles stretching that only Major Armstrong and Sig were able to cooperate with it. Fuhrer Bradley just stared at them whole time.

**CLASP!**

Major Armstrong's hand shook Sig's hand—a new friendship was born.

"Whoa!" Mason came by to see the whole scene, "It's a friendship forged from muscle!"

"**HUH?! AL WAS WHAT?!"**

At the back room of the Curtis Meat Shop, Edward and Izumi were having a conversation about the events that had occurred while Edward was at the South Headquarters for his Assessment. Izumi had immediately told the whole story of what had happened to Alphonse and Sakura while he was gone and the Homunculus man by the name of Greed.

"What do you mean, 'kidnapped'?! What happened?!" Edward screamed, obviously worried.

"Its not only Alphonse," Izumi sighed, also worried, "Sakura was also kidnapped…"

Edward instantaneously froze and shut his mouth for a moment when he had heard of Sakura's name in the explanation that Izumi was giving him. _S-Sakura…? Why her? _Edward felt his head come up with the many questions of why Sakura would also be taken. He knew there was always something about her and he knew—that whatever she was indeed hiding beneath the cheerful face was something that would put her into danger.

Nonetheless, Edward frowned. He knew this was going to happen. He had placed another innocent person in danger and it was all because they had known of their many problems. _No, I can't let that happen to Sakura. Hell no. _Edward clenched his fist as he looked bravely up at Izumi, whose eyes were narrowed down to the ground.

"As I was saying…" Izumi coughed, clearing her throat, "Things got a little… complicated."

"But why?! Do they want a ransom?!" Edward gritted his teeth irately.

"They want information about Al's soul," Izumi clarified, "In other words, they want me to bring you to them."

"But what about Sakura?!" The Fullmetal Alchemist questioned, troubled about how the pink-haired girl was taken with his brother, "What do they want with her?!"

Izumi's dark eyes became even narrower after Edward asked that question to her, "They said she was the most important key in one of their plans…"

"Important—what the hell? What does that mean?" The blonde alchemist became anxious and slightly frightened about this whole ordeal, "What do they want with Sakura?!"

"That was all they said…" The Alchemist of Dublith crossed her arms deeper, vaguely trembling at the thought.

Edward placed one hand in one of his pockets, a few strands of bangs covering his face, "Who in the world would want to know about something like that?"

Shaking her head for a moment, Izumi then responded, "A man named 'Greed'…" –She then pointed to her hand—, "…With an Ouroboros on his hand."

A spark of memory had rekindled in Edward's mind at the mention of the word 'Ouroboros'. Immediately, the first mental image that came into Edward's head was the two, dark figures he had met in the incident of Laboratory Five. The two figures also had the Ouroboros symbol in one of their body parts. _What… the…_

"It's hard to believe," Izumi continued on, her lips faintly shaking, "But, apparently, he's a real Homunculus."

Now that was completely implausible, especially to the alchemic prodigy named Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist, "…You're kidding, right?"

"…I wish I was." The female alchemist sighed, trying to escape all the troubles with one breath, "This guy's definitely _**not**_ a normal human being."

Edward felt sweat drops forming from his head when his own teacher had said that. He wasn't sure what to believe now. Sure, over the years of his journey, there had been many people that were far from 'normal' in his eyes, but not like this. An actual Homunculus—a created human being from alchemy—would actually exist. From the book he had read, it was proven that all Homunculus would not be suitable to be created.

It was impossible, or so Edward thought.

Looking down, he saw that Izumi's right hand had bandages tied around it. With a troubled face, Edward frowned.

"Teacher…" Edward began, clearing his voice, "Did he do that to your hand?"

Izumi noticed that he was talking about her bandaged hand, "Oh this?"

Of course, Izumi, not wanting to let Edward know of her many weaknesses, smiled sincerely, "It's nothing. He caught me off guard, that's all."

His golden eyes kept staring at the bandaged hand. _Teacher… it's not okay._

Finally, he looked up at her, clenching his fists tighter, "Teacher, I'm gonna go meet this guy."

Izumi simply gasped under her breath at what she had heard, "By yourself!?"

Edward reluctantly replied, "This problem is Al's and mine. I'm going alone."

"**YOU IDIOT!!"**

The Alchemist of Dublith fumed, her face close to Edward as her mouth opened, letting out the loud booming shout of her voice, "I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO INTO SUCH A DANGEROUS PLACE BY YOURSELF!"

"I'll be fine," Edward waved his hands, quite scared at that moment, "I mean, all they want is information!"

He then started to laugh nervously, trying to cover his anger and every other emotion that was embedded inside of him, "It's not like they're gonna try to **kill** us or anything! Besides, I'll get Sakura back to you safely, I promise! Right, teacher?"

"So don't worry," Edward assured, "Everything will be fine!"

For the first time in years, ever since she had last taught Edward as an apprentice, Izumi felt worried. She frowned slightly as she stared at his golden eyes with her dark ones. She felt like she was going to lose someone so dear to her—which was true. She didn't want to lose Edward nor did she want to lose Alphonse… and Sakura. She was worried, concerned, and anxious. She prayed—for once—that everything would be all right.

"All right, all right!" Izumi turned her face away; she didn't want to see her own apprentice look at her that way, "Do whatever you want!!"

Staring at her, Edward frowned. _I'm worrying her…_

Then, he looked up to hear his teacher's…soft… voice, "…Just make sure you come home in time for dinner…"

To see her speak such a way made Edward's determination rush to the limit as he replied, "Y…Yes ma'am!"

As Edward got his things ready and got the map of where the Devil's Nest Bar was supposed to be, he stepped out. What he did not know was that the Fuhrer of the Military himself—was listening to the conversation…

* * *

As Edward closed the door from the Curtis Butcher Shop, he held the small map that Izumi had drawn to him tightly with his left hand. He stepped down from the stairs and took a look at the map given to him, examining the directions and blocks he needed to go. He saw that it wasn't that far…

_The Devil's Nest… _Edward was currently thinking and he frowned a little. _I wonder what teacher's making for dinner anyway…?_

The Fullmetal Alchemist let out a deep sigh and quickly, his casual thoughts switched to the serious and grave thoughts. His brother… a Homunculus named Greed… Sakura… it all started to come in his mind and angrily, he clenched his fist, crumbling the paper inside of it. He was damn angry all right—angry at what he had just heard from his teacher, who got hurt in the process!

Now, what made him more infuriated and angry was that his brother—who's soul was bound into an armor and could die at any moment if the alchemy rune that was marked in his armor were to be touched dangerously—was being held captive by something that isn't supposed to be exist.

Lastly, he knew it, he knew it all along—he placed Sakura in danger. Edward knew it when he had met Sakura already. He knew if he were to meet more people and if they were to be involved in their situations—they would be just in jeopardy. _Why…? Why does it have to be the innocent people to take the blame?_

He wasted no time and continued to go towards the Devil's Nest. The roads led him deeper into the bad part of Dublith but he didn't care. His golden eyes looked around the surroundings; there were people smoking, drinking their booze, and being flirtatious. He felt disgusted just walking by there.

One woman, who was with a muscular drunken man, spoke to him, "What a cute little boy. Come and have a drink with mamma!"

The drunken muscular man beside her laughed, "Kid like you shouldn't be in a place like…"

However, Edward simply ignored them and strode past them, clenched fist.

The drunken man and the woman stared—sort of terrified, "…Place like this…"

Oh how Edward was damn hell mad that he pushed people out of his way and glared at them if they were to oppose his presence here. He didn't care at all—he really didn't. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist after all and he would do anything just to get his brother, Alphonse, and Sakura back from whoever had held them captive.

* * *

The door opened as the two henchmen of Greed allowed Edward in the place where Alphonse and Sakura were being held in captivity. Edward had a straightforward face on and there was nothing on it that expressed fear, terror, or hesitance. He placed his hands in his pockets nonchalantly as he stepped forward to Greed, who was already expecting him here.

His eyes scanned around the room to see that there were a lot of goons and henchmen surrounding the place. Most of them were around Alphonse, who was sitting against the wall, his hands chained up with metal bounds. Edward tried to look for Sakura but then, when he glanced at his little brother, Alphonse, Alphonse signaled him that Sakura was at the corner.

Edward nodded and looked towards the corner right—and right there was Sakura, asleep. He sighed inconspicuously with relief. She looked like she wasn't hurt, touched, or anything. _At least they had the decency to tuck her in with blankets and not disturb her… _

However, Edward needed to get back on track with the plan as he stared at Greed, "Are you Greed?"

"And you must be Edward Elric right?" Greed spoke out, coolly.

The Homunculus then shook his head, "It would've been a lot easier if we only needed this kid in the armor."

"What about Sakura?" Edward spat out, his teeth grinding inside his lips.

"Be careful, big brother!" Alphonse warned, concerned for his brother's safety and welfare, "This guy is a—,"

"A Homunculus, right?" Edward finished his brother's sentence. His eyes' main focus was on Greed at the moment.

The Fullmetal Alchemist smirked yet he could feel a few sweat drops appearing on his head, "That's a pretty bold claim. Are you for real?"

"I make it a matter of principle never to lie," Greed smirked back at the blonde alchemist. Greed knew he was going to be a challenge, however, he didn't want to show any signs of weaknesses. _This kid's pretty interesting—no wonder why his little brother called him a so-called prodigy…_

"If you want," Greed began, "I'll prove it to you."

Suddenly, Loa came along with his large mallet. He always knew when to get ready of when he was going to hit Greed across the head and to prove that Greed could regenerate and be brought 'back to life'.

"…On second thought," Greed halted Loa, "I don't think so—it's too messy."

"Ed…" Alphonse felt his voice trailed off, "He says he'll tell you how to make a Homunculus if you tell him how you transmuted my soul."

"An Equivalent Exchange?" Edward's voice was pretty hard and serious as he looked oddly at Greed.

"Yup!" Greed nodded his offhandedly, "I hear you guys are interested in Creating Bodies. It's a fair trade, right?"

"…" –Was all Edward could say.

Greed and Alphonse soon blinked and so did the other henchmen around the room who had noticed Edward became eerily quiet and started to tremble. They noticed how the clenched his fist tightly and his lips trembled. His bangs covered most of his face that it was hard to tell his expression at the moment.

Alphonse tried to get a good look of his brother—to see what was happening to him. But to no avail, his expression was vague and it hidden beneath his long blonde bangs. Alphonse became worried. Was his brother hesitant about this exchange or was it something else? The younger Elric did not know.

What's more, Alphonse was confused and… uncertain. He didn't know if he should tell his brother in the first place about what he had heard from Greed…about Sakura and the connection to the Philosopher's Stone. Sure, Alphonse was eager to get his body back and his brother's body back but he didn't know how Edward would react. If he were to told his older brother… what if his brother would actually stab Sakura for the stone or something like that…?

_Why don't I see to trust brother now…? _Alphonse wondered—he felt regretful by just thinking about it.

"**DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!!"**

Alphonse immediately was shocked and jumped up, almost standing up from the floor. Everyone else in the room were shock, eyes widened. They looked all over the room to see where the source of the scream came from. All eyes were bestowed upon the Fullmetal Alchemist, who was twitching with anger.

They all stared at Edward's face, who was indeed fuming with anger, infuriation, irritation, exasperation, and every other word that means 'angry'. Edward's eyes were glaring directly at Greed—who seemed pretty okay at how he was yelling yet he seemed very amused.

"**HOW DARE YOU CROOK?!"**

"Uh… Ed…" Alphonse tried to disrupt his brother and tell him that Sakura was still asleep, however, there was no stopping the alchemist's complete stubborn-headed attitude.

As for Dorchet, he was covering his ears with his fingers.

"**ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID!!"** Edward screamed, his voice overwhelming the room, **"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE OUROBOROS ARE SCHEMING…!!"**

"**BUT YOU KIDNAPPED MY BROTHER, HURT MY TEACHER, AND PLACED AN INNOCENT GIRL IN DANGER OF HER DAMN LIFE! AND NOW YOU WANT AN EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE!?"**

"YOU ARE, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE VILEST CREATURE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!"

At this time, Greed was staring, Loa felt like fainting, Alphonse thought his brother's speech was marvelous, and Martel—the armor was just shaking before her because of the sound vibrations.

"**YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT SOULS!?"** Edward's voice boomed, **"I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU ANYTHING!"**

"I'LL CRUSH YOU CREEPS!! I'LL SMASH YOU!! IF I WANT YOUR SECRETS, I'LL FORCE YOU TO TELL ME!! IN OTHER WORDS, I'M TAKING IT ALL AND GIVING YOU NOTHING!!"

And with a last dramatic pose, Edward pointed at them, **"I'LL NEVER MAKE AN 'EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE' WITH VILLAINS LIKE YOU!!"**

Clap… Clap…

That was all that was heard after Edward's loud, booming, and overreacting speech as Greed clapped his hands, his henchmen staring at Edward weirdly, and Alphonse crying 'tears' at his brother's inspirational speech of heroism and unequal exchange. Alphonse really looked up to his brother.

_Brother…! Your speeches are cool! _Alphonse thought.

Dorchet could only put a grim face on towards Edward as he held the sheath of his sword, "…This guy's an idiot…"

He sighed, taking out his sword, "Time to use force again."

"Don't kill him," Greed ordered.

"Yeah, yeah," Dorchet stepped forward in fighting position. He then smirked, "But it'll be my pleasure to break a few bones. **HYA**!"

Taking out his sword, he ran towards the Fullmetal Alchemist, who simply stared at him. Swishing his sword back and forth, he slashed his way through Edward. Dorchet smirked, knowing that his sword had got him, however, he noticed that his sword had hit nothing but the air and when he looked up, he saw that Edward had jumped and with a fist on his hand.

"You're slow." Edward said with a hard and spine-tingling voice, "…A lot slower than some condemned criminals I've met."

With quick motion, Edward slammed his metal fist on to Dorchet's chin, knocking him out to the ground. Blood gushed out from Dorchet's lips as his chin was cracked—hard and painfully.

Edward stood up from the ground after he had rammed Dorchet's face. He then slipped off his white glove from his metal arm and dropped it on the floor. Clapping his hands, Edward transmuted his right metal arm to a blade as he was ready to attack anyone that gets in his way. _This will be quick and easy—then, I'll try to get the information, get Al and Sakura out…_

"Next!" Edward spoke, determined he can defeat all of them.

As for Greed, he knew… he was indeed a challenge.

* * *

**"****I'LL NEVER MAKE AN 'EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE' WITH VILLAINS LIKE YOU!"**

Opening her emerald-green eyes, she had heard of that familiar, loud, and boisterous voice as she shook her head slightly, still in lying position. Trying to get a better look of what was going on, Sakura tried to lift her head up from her lying position. Her vision was still quite blurry and it felt like she had been hit by a truck.

_What… What happened? _The pink-haired kunoichi blinked her eyes a couple of times to get her vision back. She tried to recall of the events that had happened before she was in this state. She remembered meeting three, odd-looking people in a factory with Alphonse and then, she remembered fighting them and then… she started to cough up blood.

Shaking her head again, she managed to place her head up, her body aching. _Why does my body… not cooperating with me…_

Sakura finally regained her vision as her wide sea-green eyes looked around her surroundings. It was a gray and dull-looking room with boxes stacked at the side of the walls and some other, random papers that were lying around. With her swift analytical skills, she already knew that she was at some kind of storage room. But to be more specific, it was a bar storage room because the boxes were labeled with words that had 'Wine' or 'Beer'. And plus, the scent smelled of hard cigarette smoke and booze.

"Yuck…" Sakura muttered to herself. Suddenly, her eyes bestowed upon Alphonse, who was chained up and was sitting against the wall. _Alphonse…?!_

Next, she saw some of the same henchmen, then Greed, who had his arms crossed, looking at someone. Sakura tried to look at who he was looking at and then… she saw…

**"…Edward-kun?!"**

* * *

**A/N: Seventeen pages total in Word! Finally I had finished this chapter and I know everyone has been waiting for it for so long! I had to revise, edit, and tried to rearrange everything—though I know I might have missed some big grammar errors, but that's beside the point. I am now finished and this chapter has been posted!**

**And wow, I've gotten a lot of reviews to reply to so let's make this quick, shall we?**

**Randomnerd**: Haha, yes, the evil grammars of doom! Don't blame them, I'm not perfect at grammar and I'm still in need of a beta… -sweat drop- Thanks for the review though!

**Silent Kill:** Oh goodness, another long review from you! Thank you for taking your time to review this long and I'll have to reply a very long one just for yours.

Yes, Edward lucking out in his State Alchemist Assessment was very lucky. –nod- And oh yeah, with Izumi and Tsunade being parallel to each other was a great idea! Now that I thought about it, those two ARE really alike and it does make me wonder who would win in a fight. (Not to mention Tsunade with her strength and Izumi's alchemy skills with the mix of martial arts) Any who, thanks for pointing that out!

Oh yes, about the Author's Notes—thanks for telling me that. I was thinking of that but I never put much thought in it. So, next time, if I wanted to say something interesting, I'll do that for sure! I'll try to make it clearer as possible for my readers. As always, Thanks for the review and I hope you send me another long one. XD.

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** Yeah, I will, I will put more stuff on the Naruto World, Allie, GOD!! Anyways, thanks for the review—sorry I didn't get to elaborate on them that much but hopefully on the next chapter, I will. Promise.

**The-Living-Shadow:** True, true—a Woman's wrath is indeed the strongest of them all. –grins-

**Alchemist X:** Thank you and yes, that is so true! I put my hardest on working in this story and I've managed to pull it off really well! Thanks for the compliment. Oh, you mean about Shikamaru and Shino Aburame (he's the bug dude)—hm, I'll see. I think they're already planned for something else and I'll guarantee you they'll have some good parts.

**oOo TripWire XD oOo:** Prime Minister… Literally?! Oh, I hope that happens. I hope this story benefits… laptop in schools of Australia?

**Dria-chan's Tayu-kun:** Haha!! Yes, more Greed-ness!! And Izumi!! XD

Also, thanks to others of those who reviewed:

**Theblackroseofkonoha, ponies1998, YourFavouitePlushie, loveXrikuXsakuXlove, Sakura Angel 4eva, babe201**


	14. Chapter 14: It's Not My Time

**A/N: Holy crap! I'm getting close to my 150 reviews goal and I want it over a hundred now—200! Yes, that's my goal! Guys, please make that dream come true and review if you want! Please! Please! Summer is coming so there might be chances where I am to update quickly!!**

**Please review, but no flames, however, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot and the original characters that are not associated in the series are mine.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen—It's Not My Time**

* * *

"_It's not my time, I'm not going. There's a fear in me… it's not showing.  
This could be the end of me and everything I know."_

* * *

Edward stood up from the ground after he had rammed Dorchet's face. He then slipped off his white glove from his metal arm and dropped it on the floor. Clapping his hands, Edward transmuted his right metal arm to a blade, as he was ready to attack anyone that gets in his way. _This will be quick and easy—then, I'll try to get the information, get Al and Sakura out…then…_

"Next!" Edward spoke, determined he can defeat all of them.

As for Greed, he knew… he was indeed a challenge.

**"…Edward-kun?!"**

A slightly high-pitched feminine voice shouted through the air as Edward immediately turned around to see the pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura Haruno, already up and awake to see the whole thing. Edward was speechless for a moment to see her lively face looking up to get a glimpse of what was happening. _S-She's awake…_

With Alphonse, he had also turned around to hear Sakura's voice. He was astonished yet he was happy that she was at least aware of what was finally happening. The armored Elric was worried that she was in a coma or something after the incident back at the factory. _At least she's safe… now, this'll be a little be easier for brother now… right?_

Sakura was confused that she placed her hand close to her chest and looked around and then, looked back at Edward, "Ed-kun… what's going on?"

"Don't worry Sakura," assured the Fullmetal Alchemist, smiling gently at her, "I'm going to get you and Al outta here and…"

"Loa," Greed's hard tone disrupted Edward.

"Sir?" Loa nodded his head and prepared himself to listen to his master's orders.

"Take the armor boy," Greed ordered Loa, "…And the **Philosopher's Stone**…"

"WHAT?!" yelled Edward, upon hearing the word 'Philosopher's Stone', "What the hell do you mean by Philosopher's Stone?! Where is it??"

The Homunculus Greed, however, ignored Edward's range of questions, "…We're gonna rip the armor boy for analysis—and take the Philosopher's Stone soul…"

"Yes, sir." Loa replied, grabbing Alphonse and placing him on his shoulder. Loa soon ran to Sakura quickly and took her also. Instead of putting her on his other shoulder, he placed her under his arm.

"HEY!" Sakura and Alphonse barked at Loa, trying to squiggle their way out of the large man's clutches.

"Oh and when you get them to a safe place…" Greed spoke staidly, looking over at Loa, "…Take Dorchet and patch him up, too."

"Watch it, Loa!" Martel, the snake-human hybrid shouted from inside Alphonse's armor, "I'm still in here, remember!?"

"_Oops_…" Loa replied, dumbfounded, "…Sorry about that Martel."

"ED!" screamed Sakura as Loa was already walking off with her and Alphonse by his arms.

Smashing his teeth together with exasperation, the blonde alchemist dashed towards the large man by the name of Loa. While he ran, his metal-arm blade was already in fighting position, charging towards him. He didn't want them getting taken away again—he couldn't bear that, especially his brother, who's blood seal in his armor could easily be wiped off.

"Not so fast!" Edward yelled, hastening his pace.

He raised his metal-blade up to chop off either Loa or Greed; however, his attack was soon stopped by Greed's own, flesh hand. There was a loud 'Gashing' sound effect that was heard as Edward's golden eyes widened with astonishment when he noticed that his blade did not go through Greed's hand at all—and instead, its sharpened point was dulled down at whatever had blocked him.

He felt vibrations in his metal arm after the hit that it bothers the nerves that were connected to it. He shook his head, trying to get the realization that dawned him that Greed—was no ordinary human at all and what his teacher, Izumi, had said, was true.

**"Brats who won't listen—need to be taught."**

The Fullmetal Alchemist shifted his arm back to see that Greed grinned maliciously as the hand that blocked Edward's metal blade turned into something that was otherworldly. The hand was a dull off-bluish color and the fingers were spiked up. Edward tried to recall what had just happened seconds ago, only to be almost hit by Greed.

With quick movement, Edward dodged luckily, only to get a cut on his cheek. The cut on his cheek immediately started to gush blood out as Edward jumped back. Greed infiltrated him with the many attacks—from punches, kicks, and elbowing, Edward managed to fend them off with his defensive maneuvers. The two of them were certainly fast fighters.

Having no other back up plan to get him back, Edward had to go with the flow as he clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground swiftly, forming stepping rocks. He soon jumped on one of them and decided to attack from above, seeing that Greed's weak point was his head. _Let's hope this works!_

However, Greed was a very clever man—though he didn't seem like it by first impression. The Homunculus looked up to see the vertically challenged State Alchemist above him, trying to eradicate him from up there. He smirked and placed his hands to cover his head. His hands were still that strange kind of hard skin material that it was impossible to even cut through it.

"Give up, boy." Greed chuckled manically, "It's useless!"

Edward whirlwind kicked him, only to be blocked again. He ignored his insults.

"You can't even scratch me with that letter opener!" The Greedy Homunculus told him, indicating Edward's metal-arm blade that was trying to cut through him.

Edward twitched as he jumped back and clapped his hands, placing them on the ground again and instead of creating flattop rocks, he decided to create spikes as weapons to attack the Homunculus. He hoped this was the best that he could do and maybe, he could find out what the hell is that guy's weakness. If he was able to find it, he could use it against him.

_And then—I'll get Alphonse…and Sakura back safely. _Edward sighed deeply under his breath as he watched the spikes trailed after Greed from the ground.

"Ha! Like that'll get me!" As soon as the spikes got to him, Greed slashed them claw by claw with his strange hands.

However, Edward had thought up of a plan and clapped his hands again in one of the spikes, causing the spikes to combust right in front of Greed, sending fragments of it at his face. Greed, who hated that small fragments that was getting to his eyes, tried to cover it all up with his hands.

Seeing this as a guard down, Edward back flipped and grabbed Greed with his two legs by the neck.

"Huh?!" a confused Greed spoke when he saw the legs.

**BAM!**

Edward had flipped Greed by using his legs, causing Greed's head to have a head-on collision with the floor. Greed's head gushed out blood at many different sides as Edward shifted himself back, smiling proudly at what he had done.

"You left your head wide open." Smirked Edward.

Surprisingly, Greed's hand shot out to him, almost hitting Edward through his chest, "WHOAH!"

But, the clawed hand did hit Edward at the side of his stomach, causing it to throb in pain. Edward placed a hand on it, noticing that it was bleeding. _Damn it!_

"_Oww_…" Greed said out loud, somewhat sarcastically, "That hurts… that would've hospitalized a normal human for sure."

"But you're not **normal** at all, are you?" Edward slowly questioned, realizing that the words that his teacher said were, without a doubt, true.

Greed was on his knees now, trying to rearrange his head and cracking it a few times, "Well, the shape of my body and its biological components are the same as any human…"

He then wiped off some blood coming out from his head, "…But I regenerate instantly and I have an impenetrable shield. So… I guess you could say I'm a _**little**_ different."

Edward sighed with frustration, giving Greed an annoyed look, "You're not gonna tell me something crazy like… you're **immortal**… are you?"

Greed threw his head back and laughed, "I wish!! But for practical purposes, I'm close enough."

Setting aside the pointless and non-serious conversations, Greed was now in complete fighting position, "Do you understand what you're dealing with now, kid? You can't get through my shield and even if you do, it won't matter."

Greed's only response for Edward was that Edward readied his fighting stance.

"Do the exchange." The Homunculus told him coolly, "That's the **smart** thing to do."

And yet, Edward's response was fiercely looking at him.

"…" Greed let out an irritated sigh, "Look I know your type."

"You're the kind of guy who doesn't mind getting the crap beat out of him…" Greed explained, shifting his eyes threateningly at Edward, "…But totally loses his cool when your brother, your friend, or someone gets hurt. You're a stereotypical stoic hero."

"You idiot." Greed growled at him, "Are you going to let your stubbornness keep you from your one shot at the info you need… and getting your brother back."

"I'll get him back after I beat you," Edward slammed his foot angrily on the ground, "And plus… I'll get that Philosopher's Stone that you have."

"Philosopher's Stone?" Greed raised an eyebrow, "What… _Philosopher's Stone_?"

"Don't act stupid!" screamed the blonde alchemist, "I heard you say something about it when you took Alphonse and Sakura! You have a fucking Philosopher's Stone somewhere, where the hell is it?!"

Greed shook his head; his emotion quite laid-back at the whole ordeal, "Oh _that_…"

"Where is it?!" Edward demanded, getting angrier in seconds.

Then, what came out of Greed's lips caused Edward to be appalled.

"The blood is poison; a heart with no bounds and the most beautiful at first glance and withers as soon as it is pained. A face sent from above to only be surrounded by the cruelty of humanity…" Greed recited the same exact riddle that Edward received and the one riddle that Edward did not know, "Ever heard of that _beautiful_ riddle?"

His golden eyes instantly broadened. The riddle that was given to him by the higher-ups, the information that would get them close to what they wanted, and the damn riddle that he and his brother wanted to figure out so bad—Greed knew it and what was behind its meaning. Clenching his fist, Edward was obviously very ticked off.

"…Damn…" Edward muttered, his eyes narrowing down at the ground, "…Why? Why does it seem like everyone—EVERYONE—knows of this fucking riddle except me? I must be a dumbass not to even know."

Greed simply shrugged at what Edward had said.

Bangs covering half of his face, Edward looked up at Greed, flame growing through his eyes, "I will find out what that riddle means by bashing your head a couple of times. You can't regenerate forever. I'll just attack you where you don't have any armor at all."

Taking off his fancy black coat, Greed chuckled quite darkly, "Sorry…I wasn't giving it my all up till know."

Soon, his body started to transform in that dull off-bluish color and his skin looked shinier and more—hardened—like. Edward stepped back a few times but he kept his eyes on him, trying to examine what he might become. _Is this…what a Homunculus really is…?_

"I don't like to show people this because it takes away my sexy good looks." Greed stated, the skin forming and spreading at his face at this moment.

Then, instead of the handsome, dark-brown haired male, it soon turned into a monster with fangs and fox-like eyes. Its skin was the same off-blue color that Edward slightly cringed, never seeing this kind of… thing… before… _What the hell?_

"**Didn't I tell you?" **Greed said, his voice sounding much ominous from his original one.

"**You'll never put a scratch on me."**

* * *

In the underground corridors of the Devil's Nest, a large shadow walked around, trying to escape the many intrusions that were happening up the stairs with Edward and Greed. Loa, one of the henchmen, carried Alphonse, with Martel inside of it, over on one shoulder, Sakura under his arm, and Dorchet dangling from his back. Because he was hybrid of a stronger animal, Loa can carry the heaviest things.

Alphonse was utterly silent at the moment. He was concerned of his brother that was currently fighting a no-good Homunculus up at the other rooms. He hoped that his brother would hurry it up and get him away from the goons. Alphonse absolutely did not want to be around them. And, even if he was used to it, he wanted Martel out from his body. Really bad.

Sakura bit her lip as her pink bangs swayed on the side of her face. She did not know what had occurred while she was asleep but she knew it wasn't good—at all. Her green eyes looked down at the ground while Loa was carrying her under his arm. She was once again captured and took the position of damsel in distress. She despised that position; she wanted to help rather than to be in the sidelines or to wait for someone to get her out.

_Why…? Why do I always seem to take that position? _Her head perked up, hearing noises on what was happening up above. Somehow, she heard faint noises of Edward growling that her green-eyes widened. _I-Is he getting h-hurt…? _Sakura felt cold shivers coming down in her spine. She was… she was… she was worried. Inside, she didn't want him to get hurt and if he does… _Then, his brother and him… won't fulfill their goal!_

"You okay Dorchet?" Sakura heard Loa spoke, asking the man that was dangling behind him.

"Put me down!" The persistent Dorchet had said as Loa nodded his head, letting him down.

Dorchet fell on his knees, his body and the jaw that Edward punched aching all over. He still felt vibrations and some throbbing pain. However, nothing seemed to be broken. He had bruises around his face but other than that, he was physically fine. Dorchet tried to catch his breath, trying to ignore some pain that was spreading around his legs and feet. Blinking a couple of times, he managed to sit.

"Ugh… ow…" He whined a bit, "That little snot!" (Indicating Edward)

He then crouched down at a corner and bowed his head, "I've been losing a lot lately."

Loa simply patted him on the back, "It's okay, little buddy."

Watching them converse about strategic plans, Sakura assumed this was a good time to escape. Slipping her hand under the shorts she was wearing, she finally found what she was looking for—her small weapon pouch that Izumi had given her. Quietly opening it with her slender fingers, she managed to find the one she needed—small smoke bombs she had at least made earlier. She knew they were good for escaping situations.

Getting at least three and placing them between each of her fingers, she used her free hand to pinch her nose from the smell. _Here it goes—Haruno-style! _Sakura threw the smoke bombs between Dorchet and Loa as they began to cough wildly and looked around to see where it was coming from.

"Where the fuck did this smoke come from?!" Dorchet shouted, trying to find his way around it but the smoke was too thick that you couldn't even see anything through it.

"I don't know…" Loa said, quite absent-mindedly but he was still trying to find a way out from the smoke "Is it from the air vent—OOF!"

Loa felt a punch at his thigh and a kick under his arm, as Sakura was able to slip out from his arm. She then grabbed his wrist and sprained it, making Loa scream in pain. Dorchet heard it and so did Alphonse and Martel. Alphonse had thought that it was another intruder that was willing to get them—or it was his brother and that he finally defeated Greed and was trying to get them out. Alphonse didn't know for the smoke was too thick to see anything.

_What's happening? _Alphonse thought, as he looked around frantically. He saw that Loa was still holding him, except he was still in pain and when he went to check on Sakura—she was gone! _Sakura!_

But then, when Alphonse looked over behind Loa, he saw Sakura was spraining his arm. Sakura glanced at Alphonse and gently signaled him to be quiet and mouthed, 'I'll be right back. Don't worry. I promise this.'

Alphonse had full, honest trust on Sakura and the look in her eyes meant that she was telling the truth. He then watched as Sakura escaped from the smoke after spraining Loa a couple of times. _Please, hurry—Sakura…_

"Hey Loa!" Dorchet coughed, waving his hands around, "Are you alright?! The smoke's clearing up!"

The smoke indeed cleared up and when Dorchet looked at Loa, he noticed that Loa's wrist looked like it was squeezed and disgustingly turned around. What's worse was—Sakura was not under his arm anymore. Dorchet gritted his teeth and punched the wall, not caring if his knuckles were going to break.

"That damn girl!" Dorchet groaned, hating how Sakura was the kind of girl that can escape easily, "This is the second time she went up against us—and succeeded!"

"We should go and get her," Loa suggested in such a monotone voice, however, when he looked at Dorchet, Dorchet had sensed something.

His dog senses of sniffing started to occur to him as he felt the smell of something familiar and deadly at the same time. _T-That smell…_

"Huh? Dorchet, what is it?" Loa asked, confused.

"Damn!" Dorchet cursed, "We'll have to get the girl later because I don't like the smell of this!"

He sniffed the scent a few more times, trying to grasp what it is, "It's something familiar… no! It can't be!"

"**It's them!" **Dorchet shouted, running already, **"It's the Military!"**

* * *

Sakura dashed faster than ever as she turned hallway-to-hallway and corridor-to-corridor until she found the stairs that led up to the level where Edward and Greed were fighting. Stopping for a moment while holding the railings of the stairs, she tried to catch her breath. _Wow, that was quite a run… _

Shaking her head and brushing the sweat off, Sakura decided not to exert more energy and slowly walked up the stairs. She then placed her hand back at the weapon pouch and took out a kunai and a shuriken, just in case if she finds a goon or one of Greed's henchmen on the way. Seeing that there was none up the stairs, Sakura immediately ran up till she was at the second level of the Devil's Nest tavern—the level where Edward and Greed were—and the rest of the henchmen.

_Sakura, this isn't D-rank or C-rank mission anymore—this could be classified as an A-rank or maybe S-rank, perhaps. _Sakura sighed to herself as she placed her back against a wall and peeked her head out to the hallway, to see if there was anyone there that was walking by and guarding the perimeter. Seeing that there were none again, she walked out, her guard still up. She can't trust herself for letting her guard down.

Looking around, the hallway looked like it cleared. She wondered what happened to the rest of the henchmen as Sakura blinked a couple of times. _Did Greed order them to run off like the big guy named Loa and the other guy named Dorchet? _Sakura shrugged but she was glad it was easier for she did not want to go and fight them off. She knew she didn't have enough strength. _Plus they're using weapons… weapons that don't seem to exist back in Konohagakure. I think this situation could be an S-rank back at my place for you do not know what world you are in and you don't know what the heck they're holding as artillery._

As Sakura came across another hallway, she remembered that this was the hallway that led to Edward and Greed. Brushing a few pink bangs off her eyes, Sakura took a deep breath as she walked slowly down the hallway. She doesn't know if there would be some henchmen or goons that could pop out—though she very well knew that they could've run off but she can't trust that theory. They could still be around.

Then, before she could go further down the hallway, she heard an explosion and someone being rammed to the wall from the upper level, which was the tavern's position. She immediately looked up and raised her kunai, just in case someone where to fall from the ceiling and right in front of her, however, she heard voices.

"Enemy sentry neutralized!"

"Alleyway secured!"

"I repeat. Protect the large suit of armor, the boy with the braided hair, and the girl with pink-hair."

Sakura knew that the 'pink-hair' part was her but she wondered who those people are and why they were ordered to protect them. _Could it be the people in those blue uniform that I saw around here? _

The kunoichi bit her lip; she was so unsure.

However, her indecisiveness didn't stop her from walking further down the hallway, hoping Edward was alright. Something inside of her made her worry about him so much and she couldn't understand what feeling it was…

* * *

"Enemy sentry neutralized!" One of the soldiers had said as they took down the thugs and goons that were outside the Devil's Nest perimeter.

"Alleyway secured!" Another one had shouted out, roaming around the alley.

"I repeat," A man spoke, ordering the soldiers before they could infiltrate the Devil's Nest, "Protect the large suit of armor, the blonde braided boy, and the pink-haired girl. However, capture the man with the Ouroborus Tattoo on his hand."

"And the rest?"

"Eliminate them," Fuhrer King Bradley replied to Major Armstrong who was right behind him, **"ATTACK!"**

The soldiers directly slammed the door opened as their gunshots were heard all over the tavern. The women who were there screamed and covered their ears and the goons that stood there were taken down quickly and some of them were shot for they had resisted.

One of those who tried to resist was Ulchi, the crocodile human-hybrid that went up against Izumi.

He was badly wounded because of the gunshots, "You assholes. I'll never go back to the lab!"

However, before he was about to pounce on them angrily, one of the soldiers shot him straight through the head, "Basement level one, secured."

Then, two soldiers, who were armed and ready, came across another door that led to level two of the tavern's corridors. Both of them had their guard up and hoped they wouldn't have to face a harder problem.

"Level two…" One of the soldiers said, holding his gun tightly.

The two soon entered, looking around cautiously but they were quite oblivious to Dorchet, who was up in the ceiling.

Soon, Dorchet jumped off the ceiling with his swords cutting through the soldier's flesh and letting them bleed out a lot of blood. He then kicked their bleeding heads, sending them to the ground, killed within seconds.

"See?" Dorchet smirked, blood dripping down his swords, "I'm strong after all, right? Right?!"

Another one of the henchmen that was with them yelled, "Dorchet! In front of you! In front!"

Dorchet look at who's in front of him and more soldiers were at the door—with bigger guns.

"Shit!" cursed the dog-hybrid chimera.

Before the soldiers at the front could get closer, Loa's mallet crashed the wall next to them, sending the soldiers down to a collision with rocks coming at their faces. Loa walked out from the wall and stepped on the soldiers' dead bodies. He then cracked his knuckles and fixed his mallet as he turned to Loa and the other henchman.

"Don't let your guard down." Loa told them simply.

"Thanks." Dorchet nodded.

"They've completely overrun the top floor," The henchman stated.

Loa shook his head and sighed, "The rear exit is blocked, too."

"What about Greed?" Dorchet questioned, looking around and sniffing for more intruders to come.

"I'm sure he'll be fine on his own." Replied Loa as the three of them began to walk off, trying to find more soldiers to fend off.

"Whatever happened to the armored man and the girl with pink-hair?" The henchman that was with them asked.

Dorchet groaned, "The pink-haired girl escaped. We didn't find her on our way here so she probably went to another hallway or something. The armored boy, who's with Martel, is in a safe area at the moment."

"We've got to protect this level with our lives until Greed gets here," Loa told the two.

"Yeah!"

* * *

"**Are you dead yet?"**

The blade of his auto mail arm was shattered on the floor, his blood was splattered everywhere, and there were fragments of wall breakings all over the floor. There were also a few rips of clothes, screws, and gears that had been thrown around because of the numerous tries he had for punching the impenetrable Homunculus.

Edward was slumped down on the floor, his bleeding head against the wall as he was breathing heavily, losing a lot of blood from his head and a lot of pain that was inflicted everywhere in his body. Luckily, he did not break any major bone areas in his body but his spine felt like it was going to break if he was thrown to the wall—again, for the sixth time.

"Tch." Edward simply replied, his eyes opening. Both of them were blood shot.

Catching his breath and spitting out all the blood that was in his mouth, the Fullmetal Alchemist began to stand up slowly, trying to regain his strength—though he knew he had little left. Each and every breath he took, the pain in his body seemed like it was worsening. However, Edward was stubborn. He can't give up—not now, not ever. He had a goal to complete and getting information from an invulnerable Homunculus was the thing he wanted to achieve at this moment.

"That's the spirit!" Greed grinned, watching Edward fully stand up, "Kids should be full of energy!"

Growling, Edward struck his metal arm fist under Greed's chin, breaking more gears in the process. He was absolutely pissed not to even think that, that attack would not work against the shield of the artificial human being.

"Try all you want," Greed spoke after he was supposedly punched hard under his chin, "You won't hurt me."

Soon, his clawed, shielded hand grabbed Edward on his face, held it, and threw him to the stacks of boxes that were against the wall in the room. When Edward was thrown, his back, not only broke the boxes, but it also hit the wall in the process after that. Edward screamed in agony, the blood gushing out from his mouth.

"Well, then." Greed said to him in his dark voice as he approached him, grabbing Edward by his collar, "Ready to tell me the secrets of the soul?"

Edward's only response to his question was to only breathe heavily, trying to gasp for air it seems like it. He was also spitting out the blood that were still trying to come out from his mouth.

Then, he was trying to speak to him. Greed looked at him peculiarly, "Eh?"

"Thanks." Edward simply replied.

"What?"

"I lost some of the blood that had rushed to my head," Edward continued, his bangs covering his face, "Now I can think more clearly."

Greed was still quite confused of what Edward was rambling about that he listened, thinking that he was going to tell him the secrets.

Edward began to flex his broken-down automail arm, "I've shed some excess weight, too. I have the world's greatest mechanic… can you believe my hand still works after this?"

"Kid," Greed interrupted him with a hard voice, "Stop ranting all this crap and tell me the damn secrets of the soul!"

"…"

Getting impatient at the moment, Greed dropped Edward to the floor, "Fine. You're still gonna resist huh?"

Greed clenched his fist and raised it up in the air, "Damn it! Just… stay still when I knock some sense in your head!"

Edward was still trying to grasp some oxygen and he didn't have time to block or be aware of what Greed was going to do. The alchemic prodigy felt defenseless right now, unable to do anything. _I can't… move!_

Greed's fist was coming toward Edward's head until he punched it, hoping it would snap in half. _That'll teach you a thing or two for resisting, you foolish kid!_

Then, when he looked down to see that he had punched Edward, all he saw was Edward's body poof to a large cloud of smoke and when it cleared, the place that Edward used to be in was now replaced by a wooden log instead. His eyes broadened—confused on how Edward had turned into a… **wooden log**? _I swear I had it at him!_

"What the fuck is this?!" Greed growled, stepping back, "Alchemy again?!"

"**No!"**

A new voice had entered as Greed slightly trembled in shock, turning around to where the voice had came from.

There, right behind him, was Sakura, the pink-haired kunoichi. She was holding the wounded Edward tightly as her green-emerald eyes glared at Greed fiercely, pure anger being expressed through her once soft face. Sakura had Edward held tightly by her one arm and her free hand was holding a cloth. She placed the cloth on Edward's bleeding head, absorbing the blood.

She looked down at Edward and smiled softly, "I got here just in time…"

Edward's golden eyes soon looked up at the one who had saved him, "S-Sakura…?"

Flabbergasted, Greed clenched both of his fists. Obviously, he was absolutely angered now, "What the hell did you do?!"

Sakura turned her head to him and spoke with a hard voice, still tending Edward's scar on his head, "That wasn't alchemy if you're wondering. That was a simple trickery called 'Replacement Jutsu'. It's a basic technique of ninjutsu that could trick your enemies into thinking that they had gotten you when they only had gotten a log."

"What's more," Sakura smiled 'innocently' but when she spoke, it was an insulting voice, "It's like an IQ tester, to test your intelligence, and your reaction to the log was priceless. That showed you were a bigger idiot than before, now aren't you?"

Ticked off in each second, Greed growled, "Why you… Listen, little girl, I make it a matter of principle not to fight females, understand? Now let me and that kid finish our fight up, okay?"

Sakura gently placed Edward down as Edward tried to clear his voice, "S-Sakura, what're you crazy?! You can't…"

"…Ed," Sakura spoke softly, now in front of him at a fighting position, "You're hurt, stay down. I can do this."

"Hell no you can't!" Edward stood up; tossing the cloth that was on his bleeding head, walked over to her and stood next to her.

Sakura turned to him again and sighed, "Look, I can do this. I swear… I want to repay you for…"

"I didn't finish my sentence," The Fullmetal Alchemist gritted his teeth and then, gave her his toothy smile, "Hell no you can't fight him—_by yourself_. I don't want you taking all the spotlight so heck, I'm going to fight him too!"

Her green-eyes widened at first but then, it softened. She never expected Edward to say such a thing like that that she smiled a little at him. Then, her face turned back to Greed, her fighting position ready. _I really don't like this Greed guy; I'll do anything I can to destroy him. He had hurt Edward and I don't want that to happen ever again…_

Meanwhile, with Greed, he just simply stared at them. Inside he was filled with disgust. _This is pathetic; they have no chance with this man here. Either way, they will have to surrender and that Edward-kid will have to spill out his secrets. _Then his eyes narrowed at the pink-haired girl, ready to take on any of his attacks._ As for Sakura… I really don't want to fight women but I have no choice if she's this persistent. Though, she is the Stone like that riddle says—I will extract the power from her._

As for Edward, he started to recollect some of the events that had occurred to him just now. The part before Greed would punch his head; he wondered—the technique Sakura used, was it alchemy? Or was it some kind of other power he did not know about? Edward began to observe this in his mind, trying to grab information and examinations. His golden eyes glanced at Sakura. He knew there was more to this girl than he had thought. _What skills are you hiding beneath yourself, Sakura?_

Oh, was she going to have a lot of suspicion going on around her as Sakura felt Edward's eyes on her. She had just shown her skills and otherworldly techniques right in front of him. She knew she was going to do it at a right time but then, Edward was going to get pulverize by Greed's fist so what else can she do? She didn't want Edward's head cracked open or something like that. _I can't stand it when people get hurt in my eyes…_

"Well," Greed's voice interrupted their trail of thoughts, "Are yah going to charge at me or not?"

"Heh." Edward simply replied, stretching his automail arm, which was damaged harshly and yet it sill moves like nothing, "How about _you_ charge at _us_?"

"Works for me if it's going to force out everything in you!" Greed smirked, dashing towards them as Edward and Sakura moved away quickly.

Sakura back flipped and grabbed her shurikens, placing them between her fingers and throwing them at Greed. However, Greed shielded himself with his arms that the shurikens immediately bounced back and this time, it was going to hit Sakura. Then, Edward quickly came in front of Sakura and used his metal-arm to guard the shurikens from coming towards her.

Greed flexed his head, letting it crack slightly as he charged towards them, his elbow ready to assail on the both of them. The elbow then hit Edward's stomach and its force was going to send him to the wall. Sakura gasped and went behind Edward and quickly caught him before he was going to hit his back at the wall. She then set him down, angered at Greed as she grabbed her long bladed kunai and ran to Greed.

Gripping on the long kunai tightly, Sakura grinded her teeth together as she tried to slash through Greed with a great amount of chakra energy flowing in her hand. However, before she was even going to try and cut through his skin, Greed grabbed Sakura's wrist tightly.

"What delicate wrist," Greed somewhat complimented Sakura, gripping on her petite wrist tightly. Sakura screamed through her teeth, dropping the kunai that was in her hand.

Holding it firmly and tighter than ever, Greed spoke, "You've got such a pretty face, little girl. If you were only my age, you'd be even hotter."

The kunoichi felt disgusted—him with her? _Heck no… _Sakura tried to release her wrist from Greed's hand but it was too strong. Then, his grip on her hardened, cracking her wrist's bone as Sakura screamed in pain, her voice echoing around the room. In her eyes, she could feel little teardrops coming out. It hurts her… so much. She did not feel such a throbbing pain like that, that it hurt her.

"Ngh…" Sakura muttered, hiccupping from the tears that were about to come out. Greed didn't care at all at this moment as he kept his grip on her wrist, even if it was already broken on the inside. _It hurts…_

**CLAP!** Greed turned around to hear where a sound of clapping hands come from as Edward was running towards him like a bull and before Greed would have time to react, Edward placed his hands on the hand Greed was grabbing Sakura's wrist on. A light emanated from Edward's hand as he slammed it on Greed's. Greed felt his hand tremble at that light transmutation as he released Sakura's wrist immediately.

Sakura felt like she was going to collapse as Edward caught her. A few tears were spreading across her cheeks; the bone in her wrist cracked and was now considered a broken bone. Edward frowned and looked down at her wrist to see that her hand had been squeezed pretty hard and the light apricot skin was swelling inside. His golden eyes then looked at her green ones, which expressed complete agony.

_How dare he… _At the sight of Sakura's throbbing wrist, it reminded him of his teacher, Izumi's, hand that had been hurt by Greed's own impassable shield. People were getting physically and seriously hurt in his eyes and next thing he knew, it could be his brother that's next. Edward was wondering about his brother but he knew, Alphonse was not safe at the moment.

Everyone around him was getting hurt and it was all by the same group of people—the Homunculus or Ouroborus Organization. He can't stand the fact that those people—those malicious people that hide in the shadows would do such a thing like that. He wondered what could they want and why was it the people around him are the victims.

Now, it was Sakura's turn to get hurt and it was by delicate and small wrist too. Edward growled under his breath as he held Sakura; he was so pissed right now. Sakura had saved him before he was about to get macerated by Greed's fist and from what he had heard, his teacher, Izumi, told Edward that Sakura stood by Alphonse's side and tried protecting him when it came for the worse.

Sakura had much strength inside of her and now, it seemed that her strength was shattered because of this—this monster named Greed, who wanted everything in the world. Oh, how he was going to get it as Edward stood, holding Sakura with one arm. Sakura blinked for a moment, trying to ignore her swelling pain as she looked up Edward with worried green eyes.

She noticed that in Edward's golden eyes—it was full of complete anger and hatred towards Greed. The kunoichi was scared to even stare at the alchemist's eyes for a long time that she quickly narrowed it to the ground, concerned of what he was going to do. _What will you do now, Edward? _She could only wonder when she felt Edward's softly tighten his grip, signaling her to look up at him and to listen.

"Sakura." He said with a hard voice that Sakura just had to take note at what he was going to do, "I want you to step back."

"Step back?" Sakura said, her voice cracking slightly because of her incoming sobs, "But I…" Like she said, she didn't want to be behind someone's back—she wanted to step in and help and with that kind of persistence, there's no stopping with her oppositions.

Somehow, Edward resister her oppositions and her certain persistence, "Please. Just this once is all I'm damn asking."

She could tell he was serious at this time and there's no denying it that Sakura nodded weakly, "O-Okay."

He then turned to her and smiled a tad bit, reassuring her, "Good."

Back with Greed, he placed a hand on his hip, waiting for what Edward was going to do. He felt a shed of guilt for hurting the girl—since it was one of his ethics and beliefs to never hurt a female, however, the girl's diligence was too much for him to handle and maybe, breaking just a bit of her bones (okay, maybe her full wrist) would make her realize to back off. _This is really a pain in the ass._

Golden eyes scanning at Greed, Edward had a purpose of why he had transmuted something on Greed. The Fullmetal Alchemist had figured out something and if his theory inside his head was right, he could totally throw off Greed's guard and strike at him. His eyes flaring with irritation because of the fact that Greed had broken Sakura's wrist with such a hard voice, Edward transmuted his metal-knuckles to spiked ones.

Greed saw this transmutation and sighed, "Look, if you're going to use your metal-arm against me, it wouldn't work. You'll just keep breaking it and breaking it till its nothing. Don't you understand that yet?"

Edward didn't respond as Greed felt himself twitch and clenched his fists. Raising it up, he was ready to punch the alchemist out of his whims, however, Edward's metal knuckle-spiked hand punched back on his fist, causing a large force. Edward punched the same hand that Greed had used to hurt Sakura's wrist and the one he transmuted on earlier, causing that hand to…

Break the shell of the shield…

As soon as the force from Edward's spiked knuckles inflicted upon the fist of Greed, the shell exterior broke causing it to crack and dissolve. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw this—the shield had finally broke!

Greed saw this and it sent vibrations through his body that he shifted his fist and himself back away from Edward. Edward also did the same thing and smirked proudly, still glaring at Greed though…

Greed's weakness is finally revealed.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter Fourteen is finally completed! The new song by Three Doors Down called 'It's Not My Time' inspired this chapter and it helped me organize it pretty well. I know the Naruto gang hasn't showed up in this chapter (I was planning to but I still have to plan what I have in store with them and Dante) any who, thank you for all the reviews you sent me for last chapter and the constructive criticism really helped me. Arigatou gozaimasu!**

**To conclude this chapter, here are some replies I have to make for the reviewers!**

**Silent Kill:** Another—very long review. I believe this is the longest yet and a lot of explanation too. Thanks for elaborating it! Oh? And the spelling of Naruto's village is actually that?! I did not know! Forgive me but I'll try to remember that because I was so used to writing it like I did (and kind of pronouncing it too).

Actually that part of Izumi leaving Alphonse and Sakura's safety in the hands of the Homunculus was part of the manga! Since Sakura is in the graphic novel, some of the events in this story is based from the manga (with very different dialogue though). Izumi actually did that and I also felt it was out of her character too. I'm sorry if that really bothered you but that's how I remembered reading it from the manga. Gomen!

Oh, you actually liked Edward's so-called speech to Greed. Everyone loved it! I did too! Thank you for sending me an informational and long review about your criticism in your chapter! I expect another one for this.

**XxxReadySteadyGoxxx:** Thank you for the review and about the part where Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke were being 'hurt' by Dante? Well, she's an alchemist and her very presence thickens the room, that's all I can say, just tune in for the later chapters.

**Dria-chan's Tayu-kun:** Yes, everyone Edward's speech pulverizing Greed. Trust me, it was priceless and I was laughing the whole time.

**oOo TripWire XD oOo:** Muscle Battle Royale! That sounds like a video game title but oh well. Thanks for the review and yes, I think seventeen-pages was my record because usually I'd finish a chapter that's about 12-15 pages long, never seventeen pages. This one I think is fourteen, not so sure but its close!

**Phantom SunsSong:** Um, I'm basing it mostly in the manga and adding an anime plot twist. I think I will branch it off, soon, maybe in the sequel (yes, I planned up to the sequel). So, pretty much, that's all I'll give you. Oh and thank you for pointing out the errors of my tenses. I was watching out for it while I wrote it! (I'm not sure if I got all of them but…)

**Riiiceballe:** You reviewed in every single chapter!? And now I have a lot of internet cookies! Thanks so much for taking your time to review in each chapter and yes, I'm sorry that Sakura was the damsel in distress but now that she's fighting alongside, I guess she's no longer damsel. Besides, our kunoichi HATES being the damsel.

**YourFavoritePlushie:** Yes, Naruto is quite an idiot—he always puts his stomach first than anything. And let's thank Edward for waking up Sakura and I'm sorry, more cliffhangers huh? I just love cliffhangers because they're awesome! And yes, both worlds are getting REALLY interesting!

Thanks to the other that reviewed:

**lemonsinyoureyes246, Theblackroseofkonoha, Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha, Sakura Angel 4eva, SakuSakuDesu, SAQ78642**


	15. Chapter 15: Eye of Awakening

**A/N: I am in a mood to write this a little early so I give to you Chapter Fifteen of 'Renkinjutsu'! I am in such a happy mood for just the other day I went to the Anime Convention close to my town for the first time! I've never been to an Anime Convention and it was such an experience (I was supposed to dress up as Sakura Haruno but the wig became too crappy so my last-minute outfit was Misa Amane from Death Note. I was very happy) any who, enough of the convention experience, on with the story shall we?**

**Please review, but no flames, however, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot and the original characters that are not associated in the series are mine.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Eye of Awakening

* * *

"You sure are hungry…" Kimiko commented as her pale blue eyes watched the Uzumaki chow down his food at the table while Sasuke and Hinata stared. The blonde-spiked haired boy, Naruto, couldn't contain himself. He was so hungry that he'll eat anything he sees—and it doesn't have to be ramen either, though, he would usually want it to be, but not this time.

"Mm…" Naruto mumbled, while grabbing the sliced turkey foot on his platter and taking a bite at it with his teeth, "…This is so delicious! I've never seen a food like this before—believe it! How'd you make it?"

Dante, who was also at the table, turned to Naruto and gave him a gentle smile, "Just a little something that I've known all my life. It's my favorite recipe of turkey. I'm glad that you like it."

"Sure do!" Naruto grinned, taking another big bite of the turkey leg, "Hey Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme, why don't you guys try some?"

"N-No t-thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, waving her hands and blushing a bit.

Sasuke simply crossed his arms and turned his head away from Naruto, "Hn."

Raising an eyebrow after Sasuke's certain respond back, Naruto muttered, "Fine, suit yourself, baka."

Sasuke ignored what Naruto had said under his breath and then looked around the place they were in again. It was a nice, slightly large kitchen with counters, recipe books stacked at the corner, a nice, long wooden table, and large windows with the curtains actually open. It looked like a serene place but what Sasuke kept noticing is that it had the same sense of peppermint smell that he did not appreciate.

That smell stung to his nose and he could not understand why—not to mention that the wall tiles on the kitchen had weird, circular patterns in it. He couldn't sworn he had seen those patterns before when he was young—he just did not know where to put his finger on it. Sasuke crossed his arms tighter; he really didn't like to be here right now but they needed answers.

Dante sighed and spoke to them softly, "So, what are the questions that needed to be answered?"

"This." Sasuke immediately replied as he slammed the Fullmetal Alchemist graphic novel right in front of Dante, not caring if he shook the table. "This is the object that we want answers to."

"That's right," Naruto nodded, finishing his plate and placing it aside, "My friend, when she opened this book, it took her in! If you don't believe me, take a look at the pages—she's right in there, associating with the characters of Fullmetal Alchemist."

"W-What's more, M-Ms. Dante," Hinata said, trying to let out what she wants to say without trying to stutter too much, "W-When Naruto bought the book, opened it, and r-read it… nothing happened to him but why did it happened to our friend?"

Sasuke smirked and looked at Dante, his black-onyx eyes glaring at her, "That's right, why was it her and not anyone else?"

Her dark-brown eyes glanced at the book apathetically and then stared at the three young Genin Ninjas that were sitting at the table. She could tell that they were persistent and that one disagreement would not let them off easy. They would just keep going until they will find the truth behind what they had experienced or what they had witnessed. _These three, if ever interested, would be great alchemists for alchemists search for the truth and are quite importunate. They are truth-hunters and they are willing to sacrifice anything—even to sacrifice their own humanity._

Slowly taking the book with a gentle, wrinkled hand, Dante opened it and flipped through the pages, examining and scrutinizing it carefully—knowing what they had meant. Their friend…the girl…was truly in the book, associating with the characters in the Fullmetal World. However, her speech bubbles were empty, as if it was preventing you to know what she says towards the characters.

At this moment, the recent page that was somehow 'drawn' before it became blank pages was the part were Greed was challenging the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, to a battle—and with him was Sakura Haruno, behind Edward—her eyes expressed with worry. Dante smiled gently… she already knew that the girl had quite a liking towards Edward. _Such an innocent mind to be stuck in a damned world of alchemists… so pure…_

Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata watched her observe the pages with her brown eyes and how she would look closely at one thing and flip the page. The trio did not appreciate the woman at all, especially the weird, thickening atmosphere she would send to them. They assumed that it was because of the flow of strange energy she can send off from her body. _Maybe that was it…_ They all thought at the same time, but they were unsure.

As for Kimiko, the young apprentice of Dante, she didn't know what was going on exactly. First they were interrogating about some graphic novel and now, they were all curious of the secrets of alchemy, she wasn't sure. She did not quite comprehend with the whole predicament that this trio of Konohagakure ninjas brought in the residence and she did not like it at all. She was worried that her teacher, Dante, might get hurt. _I only hope for the best, Master Dante._

She finally closed the graphic novel, finishing the inspection she had made and looked seriously at the three ninjas, "This is a good amount of bad situation that you are all in…"

"Well?!" Naruto gritted his teeth, standing up from his chair and slamming his bare hands on the wooden table, "Will you do something about it?! Do you know anything, just anything, of why our friend, Sakura-chan, is in that damn book?!"

His blue-azure eyes were fierce as if one look—could for the secrets and truth about your soul. Usually, Naruto wouldn't look at a person like that, even at an enemy at some point, but now, Dante was ticking him off, more than anyone else aside from Orochimaru of course. Just the impression that Dante gave Naruto makes him want to punch her, even if she was a woman.

Sasuke and Hinata were waiting for Dante's answer as they watched her intently, unable to let her go—practically pressuring her to tell them what was really going on. They were worried of the welfare of Sakura's being and if they find out anything else, like, say, a lot of people were in danger, they will have no choice but to possibly turn her in to the village council.

Closing her eyes and of course, feeling trapped, Dante stood up from her chair gently and looked at them straight in the eye, _"The answer you seek is in the pool of crimson water."_

Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and even the young Kimiko, became confused immediately. Sasuke blinked. _Crimson water… does she mean dyed red water, red paint, or… blood? _There were so many possibilities of what that riddle meant that each of them would lead to something mysterious or deadly for that matter. _Could it be a trap or what? _The Uchiha hated being confused and so did his current teammates, Naruto and Hinata.

For Naruto, it felt like the questions on the Chuunin Exam papers! It drove him crazy to read every line of the question and now, just that simple response with—a confusing term such as 'crimson water' totally threw him off the balancing line that leads the answer or key to why Sakura was practically in the book. _Oh man… not the riddles!!_

Her dark-brown eyes stared at the confused ninjas as she smiled sinisterly to herself. _They are so easy to manipulate but they're too stubborn, they want to know what lies in this book. Might as well give it to them—what trouble would they cause if I give them an answer that is hard to believe? _Dante sighed again, it was as if that was all she could do if she was surrounded by three ninja 'children'. She soon moved her hand, signaling them to 'come and follow me'.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata looked at each other and accepted to follow her. With Kimiko, she had no choice but to follow also. She wanted to be obedient to her teacher of alchemy, even in the current dilemma they were all in. The Acari crossed her arms as she walked alongside with the three ninjas; she really didn't know what to do.

Dante led them in front of two, large pair of doors. Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata just stared at the intricately decorated wooden door. On the door, there was a large tree carved onto it. The tree had different circular orbs on each side with engravings of letters and language they had never seen before. It was something otherworldly and strange at the same time—yet, it was so familiar.

For Naruto, he knew, right off the bat, where had seen that symbol. _Is this the same carving that was drawn on the Gate—in the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga? _However, he wasn't too sure. Naruto was quite a fan of the manga than the other two of his teammates, which was Sasuke and Hinata and he knew he was going to be of great use because of the information he had in his head.

Opening the door, Dante led them inside the large study room. The three Genin looked around to see that it was a circular constructed room with large books nestled around them in bookshelves, a large desk at front, and many books stacked on the ground. It was more like a library than a study room that all three ninjas were in complete awe. They had an urge to just pick up one of the books and start reading. They were utterly fascinated for it was scrolls that would read from, never from books.

"This room…" Dante spoke to them, her voice slightly trailing off, "…Is where the answers are."

Sasuke placed his hands tightly in his pockets—he wanted to get straight to the point. He didn't want to waste his time to hear Dante lead them on to something completely pointless that he shot a hard voice on her, "Enough of this. How did our teammate, Sakura, get in the book? And what do you mean 'crimson water'? Say it now because we don't have time for this at all. We just want to know the truth—the answer to why everything is like this."

Naruto, Hinata, and even Kimiko immediately glanced at Sasuke. They all knew Sasuke just wanted to get this over with. He was an Uchiha after all, trying to complete a mission quicker than anyone else. They could tell, in the look on Sasuke's eyes, he was actually concerned for the young Haruno—but he was completely concealing it. Naruto smiled. _That teme._

Staring at him with one raised eyebrow, Dante had absolutely no choice. Sasuke was too relentless for his own good. She then turned her back to him and everyone else, crossing her arms together. Looking down at the ground, Dante was weighing the words of what she was going to say to them—she wished to not say any more but they just keep coming at her. If she could just simply…

"_The Philosopher's Stone. Is that enough of an answer?"_

* * *

Edward didn't respond as Greed felt himself twitch and clenched his fists. Raising it up, he was ready to punch the alchemist out of his whims, however, Edward's metal knuckle-spiked hand punched back on his fist, causing a large force. Edward punched the same hand that Greed had used to hurt Sakura's wrist and the one he transmuted on earlier, causing that hand to…

Break the shell of the shield…

As soon as the force from Edward's spiked knuckles inflicted upon the fist of Greed, the shell exterior broke causing it to crack and dissolve. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw this—the shield had finally broken!

Greed saw this and it sent vibrations through his body that he shifted his fist and himself back away from Edward. Edward also did the same thing and smirked proudly, still glaring at Greed though…

Greed's weakness is finally revealed.

"Rrgh…" Greed muttered under his breath, holding the hand that Edward punched the shield out of. The hand that was penetrated through started to regenerate back from the skin covering the muscle surface and the shield returning back to normal. He then stepped back and punched his hand to the wall, cracking it.

"There… good as new," growled the Homunculus at Edward as the wall broke into pieces, "…But how'd you do it…?"

Edward merely signaled a 'come on' sign to Greed.

Greed reluctantly took it as he ran towards Edward, trying to kick him straight to his face. However, Edward was quicker than that and he dodged before Greed could completely smack his face to the wall. The young alchemist then ducked under his leg, clapped his hands, and placed it on his chest, transmuting something.

Bewildered, Greed pushed him back and Edward jumped away. "What was that for?!" Greed growled at Edward.

Turning to Sakura, Edward nodded at her, signaling her to do something. Sakura got the message and she grabbed five long-bladed kunais and placing it between her fingers, she rapidly jumped towards Greed and threw the long-bladed kunais at the place where Edward transmuted at and shockingly, the kunais had penetrated through the so-called 'shield', stabbing him through the chest.

"**WHAT?!**" Greed screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, blood coming out from the stab wounds of the kunais.

"GRAAGH!" He shouted even harder, falling to the ground and gripping his wounded chest. He tried to take out the kunais that were stuck in there though it was painful.

Edward watched Greed fiercely with his golden eyes as Sakura walked towards Edward, grateful that he was all right. She was holding her wrist tightly with one hand, still wincing from the pain. Her green eyes were quite tear stained—her wrist had hurt terribly. She tried to grit her teeth, trying to get use to the pain but it throbbed harder.

The Fullmetal Alchemist noticed her face full of agony as he spoke, "Let me see it."

Sakura looked at him with worried green eyes and nodded anyway, shifting her wrist to him.

"You healed my wounds once, even if I was a bastard." Edward grumbled under his breath, taking her wrist soothingly and ripping a cloth from his coat and wrapping it around the fractured part. "There."

The agonizing pain disappeared immediately as Sakura felt her wrist was finally balanced, however, she had to be careful. If she were to move it around too much, it would break more and more and she did not want that. Her emerald-green eyes looked up at Edward and suddenly, she smiled one of her sweetest smiles, causing Edward to catch himself off guard for a moment.

Edward shook his head, trying to get back to reality rather than to stare at Sakura's sweet smile. He then turned back to Greed, who was still in complete agony, trying to regenerate his flesh and impassable shield back.

"Nngh…" Greed mumbled, trying to resist the torture of the stabbed kunais, "What did you do to my shield…?"

"It was easy enough once I thought about it," Edward replied, "You can't make something out of nothing. Therefore your 'shield' is being created from something."

Sakura listened to Edward, noticing that his voice had changed. _Huh…? _The kunoichi had noticed when he explains something—his voice—it's not the same reckless one he would always use. It was calmer and more—intelligent? Sakura blinked a couple of times as she decided to pay attention on what he was going to say.

Edward continued, clearing his voice, "You told me yourself that you're created from the same biological material as we humans. And I thought, 'what's an element in the body that could become a shield that's stronger than steel'?"

_That's right! _Sakura thought, remembering something of what Greed said once, before this battle even started. _Greed did say his body is made of human components and that—it was only heightened. No wonder the weakness was a bit easier to find. _She turned to Edward and smiled at him, full of awe and wonder. She realized that he wasn't this overly stubborn and uncontrolled teen 'protagonist'. He actually had a brain—like she did.

Smirking at Greed, Edward concluded, "The substance that makes up one third of our bodies—Carbon!"

"The hardness of carbon varies depending on how the atoms are combined," Edward elaborated thoroughly as he watched Greed trying to rebuild himself back up, "For example, compare the lead from a pencil with a diamond. Once I understand the chemistry at work, it's a simple matter of alchemy."

The blonde alchemist wiped the blood from his lip, even if there would be more to come. He then went into fighting position since Greed had entirely healed himself. Sakura saw this and ran to pick up her thrown kunais, place it between her not-broken hand, and prepared for the next attack from the Homunculus.

"Haha!" Greed laughed quite evilly, "You're good! This is more fun than I thought!"

Clenching his fist, the Homunculus alleged his attack at Edward first, shifting his fist forward to hit him on his face. Edward soon used his metal arm to catch the fist off guard and then, swiftly went under the arm to pushed Greed's chest, sending him back a bit, towards Sakura. But what Greed did not know, Edward had once again transmuted his side, changing the Carbon-made shield to something weaker.

Sakura bit her lip as Greed was pushed back to her and with swift movement, Sakura moved her arm and elbowed Greed at his side, impaling through his shield and stabbing him once again with her long-sharp bladed kunais. Greed screamed, the same kind of agony imposed upon him once again. Sakura smiled proudly, stepping back to watch Greed in pain as she realized another weakness in him.

"And," Sakura said, looking at Edward to signal him that she had gotten him good, "There's another thing we discovered!"

Running towards him, the pink-haired girl kicked him in the same spot where Edward transmuted him earlier, this time, with extra force, sending Greed farther away and to the other side of the room.

"**You can't harden your body and regenerate at the same time!"** Sakura and Edward said at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned.

Greed tried to catch his breath as his menacing eyes looked at them, "Ha… I thought you two were just two hotheaded brats. But I guess I was wrong. You two have brains, I can give you that!"

"I like you two," Greed said, crossing his arms, "But I don't think I want to fight you two anymore. Sorry. Gotta run!"

Soon, the door slammed open in the room and the military soldiers with rifles and guns entered the room. Edward, Sakura, and Greed turned around to see the soldiers in shock, wondering how they got her so quickly and who had led them here.

"We've found the blonde boy and the pink girl!" They reported.

"Huh?!" Edward spoke out loud, confused of why they _were_ here.

"They came here earlier," Sakura assured Edward, "Before I came here they rampaged the upstairs level I believe."

Then, the military soldiers saw Greed and fired their guns at him. Greed jumped back as Edward grabbed Sakura tightly, trying to avoid the bullets that came in their way. Sakura looked at the soldiers and saw those weapons—they seemed far too fast and Sakura had never seen such a weapon like that before. All she could assume of it was that it was dangerous… far too dangerous for a ninja to handle.

Greed then laughed darkly, "Haha!! See you later, brats!!"

The soldiers then grabbed Edward and Sakura, holding the two back as they watched Greed escape from the soldiers.

"Hey wait!" Edward shouted out after the Homunculus, while he was being held by the military personals, "Where's the Philosopher's Stone?! Can't you just give me a hint of what it is and where it lays?!"

In the shadows before he escaped, Greed stopped for a moment and turned his head back to Edward, "Sometimes kid—_the precious things in life, that are right in front of you, could be the one you're looking for_. That's all I can tell you."

Edward clearly heard that but he still could not understand as he tries to reach out, "Wait! What do you mean by that?!"

"We've got the boy!"

"After him!!" One of the guards shouted, trying to get the evading Homunculus.

"Let me go!!" Edward screamed at one of the soldiers' ear.

"Hey!! We're here to rescue both of you! Stay still!!"

"I don't need to be rescued!" Edward screamed even harder, "There's something I need to ask him!!"

Sakura watched as Edward struggled to get away from the soldiers' grasps. _He was that willing to fight Greed and force out all the answers… _The pink-haired ninja sighed under her breath, quite exhausted from the whole series of events that took place as she stared at nothing in the room, thinking over what had just happened. _Great, I just had to reveal the potential of my ninjutsu power in front of Edward… now, after all of this is done, he's going to raise questions at me. Ah… Kami-sama… _

"I wonder how long…" whispered Sakura as the soldiers searched around the place and one of them watched over her and Edward, "…Will I stay here…? Will I ever go home…? Naruto… Kakashi-sensei… Sasuke… Mom…"

As for Edward, he was ordered to sit down until the soldiers will be ordered what their next motive is. The Fullmetal Alchemist sighed and gritted his teeth; he had lost another chance to gain information and it was from a Homunculus too that was part of the Ouroborus Organization. Clenching his fist and slamming it on the ground, Edward had to rethink what Greed had last said to him before he escaped.

_The precious things in life, that are right in front of you, could be the one you're looking for. _Edward recited in his head, placing one hand under his chin. _What could that mean…? Has it really been right in front of me? There's nothing precious dammit! Nothing ever precious ever comes in my life! _He cursed under his breath and glanced over to the pink-haired female sitting just ten inches away from him. _Sakura… I wonder what's up with her?_

He then remembered something—during the battle with Greed when she came. Edward recalled that before he was about to get cracked in the head by Greed, Sakura did some kind of weird move, turning 'him' into a log and getting him out of the way. It happened all too fast that he didn't know how it occurred. Edward was absolutely sure Sakura had did something and it was definitely not alchemy at all.

_I knew there was something about her and hell, its time to force it out later on… _Edward sighed and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes widened suddenly, forgetting something that was very, and I mean, VERY, important.

"AL!!"

* * *

Underneath the Devil's Nest tavern, there was an underground sewage place the flows from there and in that sewage place was the young suit of armor, Alphonse Elric, who was currently chained to the ground with Martel still inside of him. Earlier, before all the ruckus of events had taken place, Dorchet and Loa had placed him there and took off, leaving him and Martel confused of what was going to happen.

"Ugh… argh…" Alphonse muttered, trying to move and get out of this place.

"You're not going anywhere!" Martel shouted from inside, causing her voice to echo everywhere as she tried to hold him back, "Stay put, you big oaf!!"

"I don't wanna!" Alphonse spoke, rebelling against her. This same procedure had been happening for a long range of minutes now and both of them knew this wasn't going to get them anywhere at all… well that's what Martel thought, however, Alphonse on the other hand, did believe it was going to get them somewhere.

Then, out of the open, Alphonse's armored head perked up when he heard footsteps coming by in the darkness. Martel also stopped and heard the noise. She tried to comprehend where it was coming from but there were so many things that were going around her head that she couldn't get where it was truly coming from at all. _What is that?_

"Greed!" Alphonse shouted as soon as he saw the Homunculus reveal himself by the light.

Greed had escaped down here from the trash vent at the room he was fighting Edward in.

"So you and Martel are still here." Greed said, scratching the part behind his neck. All the fighting he did with Edward truly made his neck feel all cramped up, even if he was a regenerating Homunculus.

Martel then opened Alphonse's helmet to get a good look of what was happening, "There was a lot of commotion up above. Loa left us here and went back with Dorchet."

Greed sighed, "Yeah, things got kind of out of hand. We've gotta get out of here."

"**That's not going to happen."**

A new voice interrupted them as Greed turned around, unable to see through the dark, "…Who's there?"

Alphonse, who's heightened senses in the armor, saw through the darkness, "The president!? What's he doing here?!"

"King Bradley!?" Martel shouted under the armor in shock.

"Hm…" Greed blinked for a moment and coolly said, "What's the most important man in the country doing in a place like this?"

It was indeed King Bradley as he stepped out of darkness and approached Greed, questioning him, "How old are you?"

"Huh?"

"I'll be sixty this year," Bradley said, walking closer to Greed, "When you get old, your body doesn't move the way you want it to. So I just want to get this tiresome job done and go home."

"You should retire old man!" Greed grinned threateningly as he transformed one of his hands into a clawed figure.

Without even noticing it, the sword Bradley held cut off Greed's hand and the Homunculus didn't even sense it.

"…What the…?" Greed spoke in utter shock as Alphonse gasped silently in the armor, seeing how fast the President was.

Bradley glared at the Homunculus, ready to take on whatever was going to happen with his sword.

Greed retracted back, holding his injured hand and trying to regenerate it as quickly as possible, "Hey! The old man's got spunk!!"

In the blink of an eye, Bradley ran right in front of him, two swords in his hands this time as he tried to cut off the Greedy Homunculus to pieces. Greed smashed his teeth together in his mouth as he tried to pull away from the President, who wants nothing more than to defeat him.

Soon, swords moving elegantly and precisely, Bradley had slashed off Greed's other arm and with full-fledged force, Bradley had kicked Greed against the brick wall, breaking it and going through another sewage tunnel. Greed coughed out blood and fell back, unable to regenerate his arms.

_No time to heal… _Greed gasped, shifting himself away from Bradley, unfortunately, Bradley was just too quick. _…Or put on armor!!_

"Why you—!!" Greed was pissed all right that he tried to cut Bradley's face off and instead, missed and cut off Bradley's eye patch instead, "You damn son of a—!!"

The eye patch fell us Bradley's two swords rapidly went through Greed's neck, pinning him against the wall. Greed spilled out blood from his mouth, not capable to do anything and it was hopeless. He could not redevelop or put shield in time.

"You know…" Bradley spoke to him in a dark and ominous voice, "…I don't have your 'Ultimate Shield' or the 'Ultimate Spear' that can cut through anything. So you're probably wondering how I distinguished myself on the field of battle with bullets whizzing all around me."

Greed glared at him with is purple eyes, waiting for Bradley's response.

"Can you guess?" Bradley asked him insultingly, the eye under that was under the eye patch earlier opening revealing…

An Ouroborus Mark under it—the sign of the Homunculus.

"Just as you have the Ultimate Shield…" Bradley grinned quite maliciously, stabbing him further with the sword, "… I have the Ultimate Eye."

"**So, Greed…"** He whispered, **"How many times do I have to kill you for you to stay dead…?"**

* * *

"What's going on!?" Martel questioned as she was sitting patiently inside Alphonse's armor, "Where's Greed?"

"I don't know," Alphonse replied, looking around, shifting his armored head back and forth, "It's too dark for me to see anything."

Alphonse and Martel had been waiting unwearyingly in the dark sewage place, hearing noises of fighting and breakings. They did not know what was happening and all they could do was wait at the corner for something to come out or speak to them. For Alphonse, all he wanted to do was go, get Martel to safety, and find his brother, Edward, and Sakura—if they were both all right.

_Brother… Sakura… where are you two? _Alphonse thought, sighing inside. If Greed came down to the sewage area—that must meant that his brother, Edward, was either defeated or even… _No! Brother couldn't have… and Sakura… is she… _He wasn't sure if Sakura was safe because she had promised Alphonse that she would come back for him—but…

Unexpectedly, Alphonse heard that the sounds of fighting disappeared, "Sounds like the fighting has stopped."

Alphonse looked over to the dark part of the sewage area, where Fuhrer President Bradley and the Homunculus, Greed, went. Alphonse heard footsteps and a few clanking. The footsteps started off as being faint that Alphonse shivered, unsure of whom it would be. It was too dark for him now and he felt his vision quite off at the moment. With Martel, all she could hear were just simple noises, nothing more.

"…Who's there?" Alphonse asked through the darkness.

Soon, a foot came out and that foot belonged to none other than Greed himself. When he stepped out into the light, Alphonse saw that Greed looked okay—except the fact that his two arms were missing or seemingly cut off. Then, the next thing both Alphonse and Martel knew, a sword was stabbed through his neck, making Greed collapsed and gush out blood from his lips.

President Bradley walked out, sticking the sword through Greed tightly, letting him bleed.

"Greed!" shouted Martel, opening up Alphonse's armored helmet as she saw Greed cough on the ground, the sword stuck on him.

Alphonse then shut his helmet back, "No! Stay down!"

"Come on!" Martel barked back at Alphonse, slamming her fists inside his armor, "Dammit open up!"

"I can't let you!! You'll be killed!!" Alphonse argued back at her.

"Let me out!!"

"No means NO!"

Meanwhile, with Bradley and Greed… Bradley glared at Greed, "You've died fifteen times already. How many times will it take for you stay dead, hm?"

"Damn you…" Greed coughed, "…And I was so close to obtaining the key to immortality too…"

Before Greed was to continue, Bradley grabbed another sword and stabbed him through the back, twisting the sword securely, trying to let Greed feel the long, torturous pain. Greed screamed in agony, desperate to just get out of here. He did not have time to regenerate or to get his 'Ultimate Shield' in place for he knew—Bradley had something more powerful than his.

"Aw, crap."

Another unfamiliar voice came into the scene as everyone's heads looked up in the darkness, scanning and trying to find who had said that.

"It would've been a lot easier if we just died back there, huh Loa?"

"Dorchet? Loa?" Martel spoke, specifying the voices.

Soon, Dorchet and Loa came into the light as Alphonse gasped. The two of them were wounded pretty badly. Dorchet had a stab wound at his upper waist while big, old Loa had severe cut marks and few bullet wounds around him. The younger Elric couldn't even believe that the two were able to stand up and walk all the way down in the sewers in that condition.

"This is not our lucky day," Dorchet sighed, wiping the blood of his lips.

Loa grunted, "So put your tail between your legs and run, Dorchet."

"I'd love, but look at my master…" Dorchet held his sword tightly as he walked over to Alphonse, "This sucks. Why do dogs have to be so loyal?"

Dorchet then slashed through Alphonse's shackles, releasing him, and asking, "She's still in there, right?"

Alphonse nodded.

Placing a hand on Alphonse's metal shoulder, Dorchet smiled, "Get her out of here. We're counting on you."

Loa and Dorchet turned to Bradley, preparing their weapons and soon, with a large scream, they charged towards Bradley, trying to assail at him.

"Loa!! Dorchet!!" Martel screamed in Alphonse armor, punching against the metal wall.

Alphonse, following Loa and Dorchet's orders, held his helmet tight from Martel. Martel gritted her teeth.

"Don't try and stop me!! Let me out!!"

"No!" Alphonse refused, "I can't!!"

"I don't have time to argue with you!!" Martel hissed, banging on the armor, "I told you to open up!!"

As Alphonse and Martel yelled back and forth, Bradley had already cut through Dorchet, slicing him in half and kicking him in the sewage water as Loa was going to ram his fist against Bradley's face.

"No!! You can't come out right now!!"

Bang!

"Shut up!! You can't keep me in here!!" Martel screamed harder and harder, "Do you expect me to stand by and let my friends die?!"

"I can't let you out!!" Alphonse yelled back at her, "I made a promise!!"

Her punches became harder as her hand began to bleed, **"OPEN, DAMN YOU!!"**

"**NO!!"**

Then, with fast movement, Bradley raised his two swords and completely cut through Loa hard, sending him off with Dorchet to die in the sewage water, letting the blood pour out of their wounds. Bradley then threw them in the water, stabbing the last of his swords to their chests, pinning them in the water to die. The blood soon spread in the water, dyeing it.

"Please… let me out…" Martel pleaded, tears running down from her eyes as she bowed her head, "I'm begging you!!"

"No…" Alphonse said softly this time, holding his helmet down, "I'm sorry… but I can't… let you out here…!!"

Greed had watched the entire thing as Bradley killed them one by one with his swords. He had completely regenerated his arms back as he stepped toward the dead bodies of his followers that floated on the sewage water. His eyes narrowed at them emotionlessly…

"Whoa there, Bradley," He spoke, "How you do this to them? They were my…"

"Feeling pity for your pawns?" Bradley growled at him, "How pathetic."

Anger surged into Greed's veins as he gritted his teeth, "Pity?! Do you forget whom the hell you're dealing with?! I am Greed Incarnate!"

"Money, women, henchmen, everything!! They're my possessions!! They're all mine!!"

Clenching his fists, Greed was ready to punch him at any moment, "I won't let you take away what belongs to me!! Because I'm fucking Greed!"

"Greed!" Bradley shouted at him, "You grow more pathetic by the minute!"

Ticked off at his speech, Bradley grabbed his four swords and altogether, he stabbed Greed, pinning him to the ground with it. Greed collapsed and was unable to move—his body felt completely numb.

Turning away, Bradley jeered at him, "Don't go anywhere." And with that, he walked off.

With young Alphonse, since he had no more shackles around him, he thought it was a good time to run off. _I… I need to escape._

"Hold it."

Alphonse looked up. _Oh no… the President._

"You're Edward's younger brother, aren't you?" Bradley questioned with a kind voice, "Are you hurt? Do you need help, hm?"

The younger Elric stuttered, trying to arrange his words correctly, "N…No, sir! I'm fine. I can find my way out on my own… so if you'll excuse me."

**GRAB!**

Out of nowhere, Alphonse's hand grabbed Bradley's neck as it tightened. From inside, Martel had taken control of Alphonse arm with her snake-hybrid powers. She grinded her teeth together with anger, desperation, and sadness because of her friends who had died in the blade of the Fuhrer President. She was pissed.

"No, Martel!!" Alphonse shouted at her, begging, "Stop it!!"

"Damn you, Bradley!!" She screamed at him, her grasp tightening.

Alphonse's 'eyes' continued to widen, **"Stop—!"**

**Stab!** Bradley's sword slipped into Alphonse's armor, hitting Martel's chest, stabbing her and letting the blood splatter everywhere in Alphonse's body. The blood came out from everywhere and it was as if the armor was bleeding. This sudden movement made Alphonse gasp and scream, 'eyes' widening that he started to see, recall, and remember…

_The Truth._

He began to see everything.

He began to see the events of the Human Transmutation, the events of his past, the events of his present, and a few glimpses of the future. He has seen experimentations, symbolisms of alchemy, and the facts, revelations, and the entire beginning of civilization. He had seen knowledge, curses, and truths. He had seen a few things behind the door of the Truth.

_Truth Behind Truths…_

He remembered himself, reaching out to a hand that seemed to be shape like his mother's hand. As he reached out for it, it grabbed him. Alphonse's eyes broadened when he noticed that the hand that had grabbed him—was taking everything of his body. Trying to catch his breath, Alphonse noticed he could not let go.

It was taking everything of him in little fragments that he didn't know whether to scream—or cry.

Then it started to flash again, his eyes trembling when it kept showing him events. One scene that totally made him stop dead in his tracks was a strange transmutation circle seal. He had never came across it before in his studies of alchemy—but it was definitely different. It seemed familiar and yet it didn't.

The Transmutation Circle was elaborate and full of strange writings that weren't the usual writings of old alchemic scriptures—it was very different and otherworldly for that matter. The young Elric could not remember anymore and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes were…

_The Philosopher's Stone…_

…_Haruno Sakura… Xerxes… Preparation… Human Sacrifice… _

_**The Promised Day.**_

Alphonse passed out.

* * *

**A/N: Now this chapter wraps up everything of the 'Greed' Events and the REAL adventure starts here. What? I've only got a few reviews from the last chapter? Come on, guys. –begs- Ah, that isn't really the right thing to do but just try and review okay? It's summer for goodness' sakes!**

**Chapter Fourteen Reviews:**

**SAQ78642**: Confused aren't you? Well I hope you get your mind straight and give me a good critic review, okay? -grins- Thanks for the review!  
**  
Chocolat-Chan:** I know, isn't my story so damn awesome? Well it's updated--thanks for the review!! XD

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** Ahaha, no, Sakura isn't going to die and don't worry--in this chapter, Greed's weakness has been specified! I miss you Allie! Thanks for the review, by the way!!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Yes -claps- Sakura-chan is now fighting--I really didn't like it that she was being a bit of a damsel in distress, and so did the other readers so now, she's fighting pretty well and in later chapters, she will fight more and more. Thanks for the review, hope you send me another one!

**Thanks To Other Reviewers Too:  
Sakura Angel 4eva, crimson-rose-blossoms, xXHitsuxSakuXx**


	16. Chapter 16: A Cherry Blossom's Fear

**Please review, but no flames, however, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot and the original characters that are not associated in the series are mine.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen – A Cherry Blossom's Fear

* * *

_- - -_

…_The Philosopher's Stone…_

…_Haruno Sakura… Xerxes… Preparation… Human Sacrifice…_

_**The Promised Day.**_

- - -

**CLANG!**

"_Al!!"_

**Clang!**

"_Alphonse-kun, are you there?"_

**Clang!**

"_**ALPHONSE!"**_

Within seconds, Alphonse's 'eyes' opened in the armor as Alphonse shook his head, turning it around slightly, trying to clear his blurred vision. Usually, since he was bound to an armor, he didn't have a certain 'vision' of a human but then—it seemed that it was distorted when he woke up and it took time to go back the way it was.

Finally, when it did, Alphonse saw his brother, Edward's, worried face and then next to him, he saw young Sakura's face, concerned and was about to cry since she was worried. Alphonse frowned inside—he didn't like it when he made people worry. Just seeing their faces made him ponder what would happen if he didn't make it in the first place? _Ah, I shouldn't be thinking of that._

Examining their conditions, Alphonse saw that his brother was bruised, scratched, and cut all over the place. There were also still a few blood still gushing out from the wounds. As for Sakura, there were only a few minor scratches that could heal right away and when he looked down at her hands, he noticed that one of them was bandaged tightly, like his teacher's. He knew that it was broken.

_Sakura… _Alphonse thought, snapping into reality at the realization of something as he tried to remember all of the events. And then, it hit him when Alphonse looked down to see that his armored chest plate had been taken out and there were bloodstains all over him. _Oh no… Martel! _He looked around frantically, wondering what had happened to her.

"B-Brother…" Alphonse managed to say a few minutes later.

Edward blinked for a moment and just the look from Alphonse's 'eyes'; Edward already knew what he was looking for. Slowly bowing down his head, Edward didn't know what to say to him at the moment so he let Sakura do the talking. Alphonse looked at Sakura, searching for the answers on her delicate face. Sakura sighed sadly, wiping a few small tears in her eyes.

The pink-haired kunoichi then turned to a certain direction. Alphonse understood and turned—seeing Martel's bloodied body covered up in a large cloth. Alphonse felt his heart sank and was unable to say anything. Now the events started to flood back as he remembered Bradley, sticking the sword in his armor and stabbing Martel from inside of it.

Then, Alphonse looked up to see Major Alex Louis Armstrong entering the scene. He noticed that Major Armstrong was wounded around the head and carried a few scratches on his muscles. _He must've gotten into one of those fights with Greed's henchmen who resisted… _Alphonse thought, sighing inside. So many people were getting hurt these days.

"We opened you up and pulled her out." Armstrong gently told him.

Alphonse then covered his armored face with his hands and started to tremble internally, "I couldn't help her out…"

Armstrong frowned, "I'm sorry."

Placing a hand on Alphonse's armored shoulder, Sakura smiled brightly at him, trying to cheer him up, "You tried your best Alphonse—that's the best you could do, okay? You did a very good job."

The younger Elric looked at her—her emerald-green eyes optimistically twinkling with such happiness and Alphonse couldn't help but smile inside.

"Yeah, what Sakura said," Edward grinned, "It's not your fault, Al. Let's go home. Teacher is waiting."

"…Okay." Alphonse said, somewhat unsure.

"**Hold it.**"

The trio turned around and looked up to see that Fuhrer President King Bradley was walking over to them. Edward frowned for a moment, hating to see what he had to say while Sakura and Alphonse waited patiently, slightly scared of what he was going to say. The President was a high figure of the military state and the country so whatever he was going to say will get straight to the point.

"I have some things to ask you three first." Bradley told them staidly, arms behind his back as he faced them.

Edward stared at him with his fierce golden eyes, still waiting what he was going to say.

"Did you…" Bradley began, clearing his voice out, "…Make any deals with the man with the Ouroboros Tattoo?"

Straightforwardly, Edward replied, "No we didn't."

"Did you share any information with him?"

"Nothing." Edward responded, straight away again, "He didn't ask us anything about military affairs."

Bradley narrowed his eyes at him, "It's not your military knowledge I'm concerned about. If you made any deals with them or shared any of your expertise, I'll execute you two, Edward and Alphonse, specifically right now."

Then, three of the soldiers that were with Bradley clicked their guns, ready to pull the trigger at Edward and his brother, Alphonse. Sakura, who was still kneeling on the floor with Alphonse, gripped her chest tightly, worried what would happen next. Her lips trembled as she wanted to tell Edward something—but… she was too scared.

_Edward-kun… _Sakura shivered inside, unable to look at him or the soldiers with the guns. She was afraid to see someone get killed in front of her with those weapons. Sakura had never seen them before but already, she knew they were a lot more dangerous then swords, kunais, and shurikens. Just the look of those weapons already terrified the pink-haired girl.

Edward clenched his fists quietly, knowing that in the corner of his eye, Sakura was there, watching. He didn't want her to experience this kind of thing and he didn't know what would happen to her if he or Alphonse were to be killed right in front of her. Gritting his teeth inside his mouth, he didn't know how to react but with his brave wits, he stayed strong.

"So," Bradley spoke to them with a solid voice, "I ask you again, did you say anything to those people that might cause problems for my military?"

"Of course not," Edward slightly glared at him with determination, "Any more questions?"

Bradley examined the two and then asked, "Your steel arm and your brother's armor body… is there any connection between the two?"

Golden eyes broadening, Edward's fists grasped each other tighter while Alphonse breathed in deeply inwardly—not knowing how his brother was going to reply to this. As for Sakura, she placed her hand close to her chest and her emerald-green eyes glanced at Bradley, glaring at him also. She really didn't like his presence…

Now that she saw Bradley, he noticed that he was the same man who helped her find the hospital when she was looking for Edward and Alphonse at the time! She couldn't believe that he was the President of the whole military because at first impression, he seemed like a kind-hearted old man. _I really can't believe that, that was him—the man who gave me directions to find the hospital where Edward and Alphonse stayed in that day…_

As for the question that Bradley had asked Edward, Edward simply turned to him, not saying anything and instead he gave him a look that said: 'There is nothing, that's all I could say'. Bradley seemed to have gotten the message and smiled at Edward and Alphonse, crossing his arms and signaling the soldiers to lower their guns.

"You're an honest kid," Bradley said, grinning a bit. He then turned his head over to Sakura, who, in return, looked up with her wide emerald-green eyes—wondering why the President was looking at her.

"As for you, young lady…" The Fuhrer spoke to her thoughtfully, "How are you connected to something this dangerous? A young girl like you shouldn't be in this kind of situation, hm?"

"I… uh…" Sakura stuttered, not knowing what to say as she looked down at the ground.

"She was with my brother, Alphonse," Edward interrupted with a firm voice, making it seem like it was the honest truth, "She was kidnapped also—she has nothing to do with any propositions with the man of the Ouroborus Mark."

Bradley stared at Edward with hard eyes and then he glanced at Sakura, who was looking up at Edward with wonder. Sakura couldn't help it but smile and quietly mumble a 'thank you' under her lips. She now understands why Naruto and all of her other friends that read the graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist admired Edward. It was either of his strange heroic behavior of determination, concern, or saving someone when they get interrogated.

Edward was very clever, Sakura could give him that. _Always so stubborn…_

Nodding his head, Bradley turned to the soldiers, "All right, men. Pull out."

Edward, Alphonse, and Sakura watched as the soldiers gather around and walk out of the room. When they started to scatter out, Edward breathes out a sigh of relief silently under his mouth. Every time he had to deal with the president or some high-ranking military subordinate, aside from his superior, Colonel Roy Mustang, of course, there would always be complete tension.

Before Bradley would step out of the scene, he waved his hand, "Oh and Ed… take good care of your younger brother, Alphonse—and your pretty pink-haired _girlfriend_."

Fuming at the sudden new thing that Bradley said, Edward twitched and shouted, "GIRLFRIEND?! Okay, since when was THIS?!"

With Sakura, the only thing she did was blush heavily and twitched her eye. She couldn't believe that she was being referred to Edward, the main character, the Fullmetal Alchemist's, girlfriend?! She shook her head rapidly, trying to take away the heavy red blush that spread across her cheek. She didn't want anyone to see how she reacted to that. _I really can't believe it… why wasn't I ever referred to mistakenly as Sasuke's 'girlfriend' or something when I was in Konohagakure?!_

Alphonse, who saw both of their reactions, laughed privately inside. _Those two like each other—more than they know._

"Hell, whatever," Edward shrugged and sighed, turning to Alphonse, "Al, let's go back to teacher and fix you up okay?"

"Okay, brother." Alphonse nodded.

The Fullmetal Alchemist then turned to Sakura, "You okay, Sakura? How's the wrist?"

Sakura blinked, her green-eyes looking through his golden-orbs, "Huh?"

"How's the wrist?" repeated Edward clearly.

The pink-haired girl glanced at her wrist for a moment, touching the cloth (from Edward's black over coat) that was wrapped around it. She soon smiled, "It hurts a little but it doesn't hurt as much when it broke."

Edward grinned, "Okay, good! Well, let's go. We don't want to make teacher wait too long."

"Right!"

* * *

Staring at him with one raised eyebrow, Dante had absolutely no choice. Sasuke was too relentless for his own good. She then turned her back to him and everyone else, crossing her arms together. Looking down at the ground, Dante was weighing the words of what she was going to say to them—she wished to not say any more but they just keep coming at her. If she could just simply…

"_The Philosopher's Stone. Is that enough of an answer?"_

_The P-Philosopher's Stone…? _Naruto thought as he scratched his blonde-spiked up hair, quite confused at what she had meant by that. _But the only thing that I know about the word 'Philosopher's Stone' is from the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga, the one thing that Ed and Al are looking for—so what does this have to do with Sakura-chan being in the book? _So many questions raced around Naruto's brain as he started to swirl his eyes and held his head, the headache coming around the corner. Poor Naruto, whenever it gets to something so confusing… it feels like a writing exam at the Ninja Academy back at Konohagakure.

It was the same thing for both Sasuke and Hinata; they did not understand what Dante had meant by that. Sure, they know that term came from the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga but seriously, what does it have to do with Sakura being in that book? Hinata shook her head while Sasuke crossed his arms tighter, quite frustrated by this.

The predicament of Sakura being in the book was becoming much more over complicating than anyone had thought. It was like, they were running around circles and no one knows which path to go to find what they want the most. Even if they made strategies, the strategies would not even work. That was how the three Genins consider the situation and it seems like—there's no way out.

"Hey lady," Naruto called out to Dante, "Isn't the 'Philosopher's Stone' just a myth? I mean, dattebayo, isn't just what the 'thing' is called that Ed and Al are searching in the Fullmetal Alchemist book? Didn't you just make that up?" The blonde-haired ninja scratched his head, all confused—he didn't even think that what he just questioned Dante could have even made sense at all!

The female alchemist turned to him with a casual expression on her eyes, "A myth? A myth, isn't it?"

Naruto looked through her eyes to scan it and in those eyes expressed a certain secret of what she was saying. It also expressed another thing to—honesty and truth. _W-What…? Does she really believe a Philosopher's Stone could exist… does she? _Naruto wondered, his azure eyes in shock and bewilderment. He had always loved reading the Fullmetal Alchemist Graphic Novel and the plot was unbelievably good, like each time he would turn the page, he was eager to know the secrets of how the events were occurring.

As for Sasuke, he also scanned Dante's eyes for any hint of lie in what she was saying but when he found none, his own eyes broadened, not believing at what extent she was rambling about. He had read the Fullmetal Alchemist book (and he admired the plots and the twists of the story but was too stubborn to admit it to Naruto or anyone who had read it in the first place) and he knew it was just a 'fictional' book, nothing more—so why, the creator of that book, believe everything?

"You actually believe that there is a Philosopher's Stone?" Sasuke questioned, crossing his arms, "And the reason Sakura is in there is due to something because of that?"

Dante scratched her chin and then grinned, "Well, yes, that is where I'm getting at. You did want the truth didn't you?"

"But… how…" Naruto's words were trailing off.

"If you would want to make sure," Dante signaled her hands at the books scattered upon the floor, "There are books that I've gathered for you to see."

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed while Sasuke and Hinata's jaws nearly dropped on the ground, shocked.

Sasuke slammed his hand on his forehead. _Okay, this woman likes to change her subjects and points way too much. Its as if she wants to bring us to crooked paths. But if its something to prove of what she says, then fine. _The Uchiha had sighed—it seemed like it was the only thing he could do at this moment as his black-onyx eyes looked at the stacks of books in the study room. He scratched his cheek and then grabbed a book and opened it.

Sasuke didn't mind reading a thousand books to find something; he actually had a hobby of reading books and scrolls in his spare time. He was, of course, the best rookie of the Genin Group and he would do anything to keep that reputation safe. Even if he was the coolest and greatest Genin so far to graduate from the Academy, Sasuke had an undying loyalty to Konohagakure.

And he would also do anything to protect his village—especially its people. That is where Sakura comes in. Even if he doesn't seem like he didn't care about Sakura, she is still his teammate and a part of his village and he'll do anything he can to retrieve her back from where—wherever she is. And reading the books is where he was going to start.

Sasuke shook his head and sat down on the floor next to a stack of books. Placing a hand on one that seems interesting enough, he opened it and examined the first page.

Understanding Alchemy

'_Understanding Alchemy'… That seems interesting enough. _Sasuke thought coolly as he turned to the next page and began to read the text with his dark eyes.

"_The basic alchemic concept is 'Equivalent Exchange'. Alchemy is not some sort of convenient magic that can create something out of nothing. It is based on the concept of 'equivalent exchange', which follows the scientific principle of the conservation of matter and the laws of nature. In order to create one type of matter it is necessary to supply an equal amount of the same type of matter. For example, you can't transmute a stone statue out of water."_

Already, the Uchiha boy got quite a headache from reading that kind of paragraph. Sure, science was taught in his academy class but not this elaborated or well explained with words he had never seen before. It confused him—it made Sasuke flabbergasted that he was speechless and unsure to review what he had just read and how to put it in the simplest terms possible. He rubbed his temples—he was so perplexed yet mystified with the whole perception of alchemy.

_I wonder how we'll get Sakura out from the comic book with this… it has no point! _Sasuke gritted his teeth as he continued to look further on into the book that he got so concentrated that he did not notice someone coming up next to him. At the last minute, he felt the presence, jumped up in surprise and turned around. As soon as he turned to look, his eyes became bored and ordinary again—as if he wasn't surprised in the first place.

"Baffled aren't you?" Kimiko Acari, the apprentice of Dante, questioned, her crystal-blue eyes blinking as Sasuke groaned and went back to reading.

Amused by this, Kimiko walked over by his side and sat down, observing what book he was reading. A grin came across her facial features.

"That's the first book I read the first day I was apprenticed under Mistress Dante!" Kimiko somewhat squealed at his ear that Sasuke twitched an eye. He swore to Kami-sama that such loud people—well _two_ loud people, Naruto and Kimiko, surrounded him; Hinata wasn't much of a nuisance since she was so quiet.

Kimiko saw how the Uchiha was getting _really_ annoyed. She smiled a bit evilly for she was getting entertained at how the boy was getting. Was he easily this annoyed? _He really needs to lighten up a bit—really! _However, Kimiko didn't want to cause chaos around Sasuke and instead, she stayed calm and sat properly, scooting away from him, just a little because he didn't want to invade his space.

She watched as Sasuke's dark eyes would dart around word by word, registering every sentence in his head as she was amazed at how he would be so concentrated in trying to find what he needed. Kimiko did heard, from whispers around the area, that Sasuke was the most promising Genin of the whole Leaf Village—that he graduated top in his class and learned high-level ninjutsus of the Uchiha Clan.

_And whenever someone talks about him, his or her voices seem to worship him—hands down! _Kimiko rolled her eyes. _But I wonder… how he feels about this… I bet he probably doesn't appreciate it, doesn't he? _The black-haired female sighed and placed her hands under her chin. She did not know why she was so mesmerized by the Uchiha boy that sat close to her—and she did not know why she was even talking to him in the first place.

She had to admit when she had first met Sasuke, at first impression he seemed kind of a guy that you did not want to get along with, however, to Kimiko, she was very fascinated of him. The Acari female did not know why she was like that—maybe it was just something beneath Sasuke's eyes sparked her and though she had treated him 'harshly' in the beginning, she regretted it.

As for Sasuke, he was scanning the words, sentences, and every detailed paragraph in the book he was reading. The book told him much about the Philosopher's Stone but how the hell was this going to help him retrieve Sakura out from a graphic novel?! It was like he was walking through a crooked path and though it may seem hard and full of corruption but at the end of the crooked pathway would be nothing but a pointless conclusion.

Scratching his head, Sasuke bit his lip with frustration until his eyes had seen something quite interesting in the old texts of the book…

"The… Gate…?"

* * *

That night at the Curtis' household, everything was quiet and peaceful. Tranquil winds traveled through the air as the earlier events seemed to fade away in a moment as Sakura carried the large pot towards Izumi, who was busy cooking and was eerily quiet. At first, Sakura wondered why Izumi was silent and dared not speak about what had happened to her, Edward, and Alphonse.

When they first arrived with a bloodied Alphonse, a very injured Edward, and her with a broken wrist, Izumi had scolded Edward and Alphonse for just a minute before softening up and telling Edward to wash his wounds and bandage himself out and Alphonse to be cleaned. For her, Izumi told Sakura to take a nice bath, change the cloth that was tied around her broken wrist to a better and refurbished bandage, and for Sakura to change into nice clothes.

So, right now, Sakura was cleaned, her pink-hair brushed delicately, and was wearing the nice sundress that Gracia Hughes had given to her before she had left to find the Elric Brothers. _Wow, this sundress fits me pretty well. I love it! _Sakura smiled to herself as she handed the pot towards Izumi. Izumi took it gently and smiled sincerely back at her, obviously trying to hid the concerned look on her face.

"Thank you, Sakura." Izumi bowed her head as Sakura grinned.

"Anything else you would like me to get for you?" The pink-haired girl questioned, walking up next to the female alchemist as she started to cut some fresh vegetables and meat and mixed them together in the pot.

Izumi shook her head and tapped the spoon she was using on her lips, "No. I think that's all. Thank you."

"No problem at all, Mrs. Curtis." Sakura smiled cheerfully, walking over to the window at the kitchen and staring at the dark, indigo night sky where the stars twinkled happily. Sakura beamed at the sight as her wide forest-green eyes reflected the stars light. She loved watching the stars and it reminds her of the clear night sky back at her home, Konohagakure.

Even if she seems like a happy, valiant girl on the outside, Sakura missed her home dearly. She wondered if she would ever find a way to get home, back to her friends and back to her family. She missed eating at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop with the go-lucky Naruto; she missed having nice walks in the park with Hinata. She missed having to train with Kakashi-sensei. She even missed having Sasuke reject her dates.

Sighing (it felt like it was the only thing she could do at the moment), Sakura frowned, placing her chin on her hands; she started to think about her mother, who was alone back at Konohagakure. Knowing her mother very well, Sakura knew her mother would be devastated to find her daughter missing. She could obviously see her mother crying in tears, begging for her to come back…

_Mom… _Sakura let out a depressed breath from her lips, pondering. _She must be worried sick about me. I mean, she's all-alone… _

Then, another thought came in her head as she started to remember all the events that had occurred back at the Devil's Nest tavern with that weird man named Greed. She started to recall that she had used the Substitution Jutsu—right in front of Edward. Terrified and tense emotions started to surface on her delicate features as Sakura placed her hands together, hoping Edward wouldn't start questioning her on…

"All done!"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Edward's voice. Looking out the window properly, she saw the blonde alchemist wiping the remnants of crimson blood that were plastered against Alphonse's metal chest plate. She watched as Edward observed the chest plate closely as his golden eyes would squint so gently upon it.

Those golden eyes—the ones that she had seen on the cover were so mesmerizing to her. At first glance, they seemed such hard eyes yet behind them was this amount of vulnerability. Somehow, she can't stop staring at them and secretly, the young pink-haired girl wished he would look at her straight with those eyes again…

_Ah! What am I thinking? _Sakura could feel her face heating up and the red shading appearing upon her face as she shook her head fervently, trying to shake away the blush on her fragile face. Sakura didn't know what had happened but she knew, she shouldn't show it like that. Was it just her or was she developing a crush on the famous graphic novel main character, that all the girls in the whole village adored, Edward Elric?!

_Me? Having such affections for that… well, **him**. Heck no! _Sakura crossed her arms in a humorous way as she frowned. She shouldn't… she couldn't… she just can't be falling for Edward Elric! I mean, she still has a task of helping him so she can get back home but falling for him wasn't an option! Besides, they aren't even in the same radar with each other in personality!

_Well… what about the fight with that Greed-person? Were we cooperated and when my wrist was injured… _Her emerald-green eyes looked at the bandage that was wrapped around her wrist. Earlier, after it broke, Edward ripped a piece of cloth from his black overcoat and enfolded it around the wrist to prevent her from feeling such agony. _He… he helped silence the pain… _

"Sakura," Izumi called her as Sakura turned around, giving her a small sincere smile.

"Yes?"

"Could you check on Edward and Alphonse for me?" She demanded kindly, "They're taking quite long."

Sakura nodded though inside, she really didn't want to do it. She didn't want to have to look at Edward's face, knowing she'll suddenly have butterflies erupt uncontrollably and mercilessly in her stomach. She decided to do anyway, due to the 'kindness in her heart' that she can't really maintain. So, Sakura did as she was told and went outside.

* * *

"All done!" Edward shouted, grinning as he wiped the last few leftovers of the blood, "Good as new."

He had changed his attire, since his usual outfit was ripped into shred at the battle. Now he was wearing a black sweat and a dark brown, casual and slightly baggy pants, and simple walking sandals. He had the bandage around his head and a few on his face. He was still a little bruised in some areas of course.

The two brothers were outside, under a beautiful night sky as Edward was trying to clean off the bloodstains that were all over Alphonse's armor. As for Alphonse, he sat on the steps quietly, staring emptily out of nowhere, contemplating about something that had happened earlier to him.

Alphonse placed his two metal arms together that were on his metal legs as he began to ponder profoundly about the events he had witnessed. First, was of course, someone getting killed in his armor hardheartedly. Second, were the visions he had seen in his mind and the part where he remembered his body being taken away. Lastly, were the words that Greed had said about the Philosopher's Stone… and Sakura.

* * *

_"What do you mean? What is so impossible about Sakura?!" Alphonse asked, his voice rising like fire._

_Greed smirked, "Like us, she should belong in the 'shadow world' but luckily, her appearance seems suitable to be accepted, even if she had pink-hair and everything that's different about her. She's an illusion to the world outside but in the shadow world, she's a very important girl and she belongs to where we are…"_

_"She's what you say—something that you and other alchemists had been looking for all along…" The Homunculus narrowed his eyes to the ground, "And she might be the key to Immortality, I am not sure and that is why we're willing to activate what lurks inside of her."_

_Alphonse tilted his head. He was confused, bewildered, and most of all, worried about Sakura, "I still don't get it. She's just—an ordinary girl, okay?! Please don't do anything to her!"_

_"We can't fulfill that, kid," Greed stood up from the ground and approached Sakura, "This girl… has the power that alchemists such as you want to grasp upon. Something you thought could be so impossible yet there she is, proof that everything could be possible unless you find how to do it."_

_"…So, Alphonse," Greed said, his back turned to him and the others as he kept staring at Sakura…_

_**"…Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"**_

* * *

_It's just not possible… but what Greed said… _Alphonse soon placed his hands together in a praying-like position as he leaned his armored head against it, thinking. _The riddle matches her way too much. I can't believe that it is her—but she's just… she's just… _Alphonse didn't know how to organize his thoughts anymore. Everything was too much for him to take and what's more, he didn't know how he would say it to his older brother.

_Brother… how would you feel if the very thing you want… is someone so pure and innocent… _The armored Elric thought, his 'eyes' glancing at his brother seriously. _Brother… if only you knew. _Still, Alphonse didn't know to say it, how to tell him that they were close to the thing they searched for a long time. He was scared—to see what his brother's reaction would be if he were to tell him. _Maybe, I'll keep it to myself, I mean, we can find another way can we…?_

Apparently, Edward saw Alphonse and deep thought and of course, being an older brother, he would be concerned of why Alphonse would be so quiet. Edward had been noticing this ever since they had came back from the Devil's Nest commotion. Frowning a bit, he approached him, placing the dirtied cloth over his shoulder.

"You okay… Al?" Edward questioned politely and a bit hesitantly. Sometimes, he doesn't want to intrude his brother's 'alone' time with himself.

Alphonse's head shot up at his brother's sudden voice. It wasn't loud and reckless like he'd always hear but it was soft, subtle, and actually slightly mature. The younger Elric looked up at the older Elric's face and just by looking at it, he saw an honest, concerned emotion. Alphonse smiled inwardly; he knew his brother was always there for him.

"Uh…huh." Alphonse's voice somewhat trailed off. He knew he couldn't say the 'things' he didn't want to say and instead, he continued, "I'm just in a little daze, that's all."

Assuming that Alphonse was still and JUST thinking about the Martel-getting-killed-in-armor situation, Edward stuttered and spoke, "Al, I-it's not your fault."

"No!" Alphonse placed a hand up to Edward, signaling that wasn't it, "It's not about that…" _Well, sort of, but its not the main thing on my mind…_

"I got it back." Proclaimed Alphonse, "The **memory** of when my body was taken away."

* * *

_He began to see everything._

_He began to see the events of the Human Transmutation, the events of his past, the events of his present, and a few glimpses of the future. He has seen experimentations, symbolisms of alchemy, and the facts, revelations, and the entire beginning of civilization. He had seen knowledge, curses, and truths. He had seen a few things behind the door of the Truth._

_Truth Behind Truths…_

_He remembered himself, reaching out to a hand that seemed to be shape like his mother's hand. As he reached out for it, it grabbed him. Alphonse's eyes broadened when he noticed that the hand that had grabbed him—was taking everything of his body. Trying to catch his breath, Alphonse noticed he could not let go._

_It was taking everything of him in little fragments that he didn't know whether to scream—or cry._

* * *

Edward gave him a long stare of disbelief and shock. However, just hearing that made him thought about it a bit further. Maybe his brother had seen something there about the Truth's importance or even about the Philosopher's Stone. Getting fascinated and curious than ever, Edward approached his brother.

"Wh…What was it like?!" Edward asked, bewildered.

"Uh…" Alphonse thought for a moment and instead, he wiggled his arms around, "It was pretty weird!"

"But…" Alphonse continued, his armored head lowering down, "I didn't find anything about transmuting human bodies." _Or did I…?_

"I see…" Edward bowed his head down, knowing that it was another dead end for them.

He remembered a Transmutation Circle appearing in his head, of course, but he wasn't sure if it would be transmuting for humans. It was a totally different Transmutation Circle that he had never seen before, even in ancient alchemic scriptures that he came across before. It was elaborate with many enticing lines and words that were written upon it. At the middle of the circle, he remembered vividly, was some kind of seal.

He wasn't sure how the seal was decorated but he definitely knew there was a faint seal at the middle of the circle. That was all he knew but he couldn't trust himself on saying it to his brother first. What if it was something dangerous, more dangerous than transmuting human bodies? That is why Alphonse needed to look at a few things first and if it does lead to that circle, then he maybe right.

Another thing that confuses him so was why did he hear Sakura's name in his thoughts and other dim words he could not remember. He just recalled hearing Sakura's name. Alphonse had a major hunch about something, especially about the Truth and the part where Sakura's is pronounced the 'Philosopher's Stone'. However, he was still walking in crooked paths.

"Sigh… I guess we haven't made progress after all." Alphonse spoke, standing up from the stairs and grabbing his chest plate. He then placed it around him again and attached it tightly.

"No. That's not true." Edward replied stubbornly, "Do you remembered what had happened at Laboratory Five and at the Hospital…? What Sergeant Denny had told us…? And the riddle…?"

Alphonse looked up and then, he nodded, "At Laboratory Five, the people with Ouroboros Tattoo were making the Philosopher's Stone."

"No, Alphonse," Edward said, "They weren't 'making' the Philosopher's Stone—they were _waiting_ for it."

* * *

_"Well, then. We no longer need this facility to prepare the stone's arrival. Let's just blow this place up to get rid of the evidence shall we? Waiting in this thing is so long…"_

_"What is taking the Philosopher's Stone so long?! Father did 'called out' for it… and this is supposed to be the month were it make an appearance."_

* * *

"That's what I remembered them saying," Edward explained, clenching his fists, "They are waiting for the Stone from something and wherever that stone is or where it had been created we will get to it before—,"

The brothers heard the door creaked open as they turned to Sakura, who was confused at what the two were doing.

Sakura blinked but then, she understood. The two brothers were conversing seriously and she smiled and waved. Alphonse waved back at her, however, Edward didn't seemed pleased that she was there at the moment. Sakura saw this and then, refrained her hand from waving a bit too much and placed it back at her side.

_He's probably knows already… _Biting her lip, Sakura stepped back and said with a nervous tone, "M-Mrs. Curtis just told me to check on you two, that's all. I'm sorry for intruding."

"That's fine." Edward replied with a hard voice, "I actually need to talk to you. Alone."

As Edward emphasized the word 'alone', Alphonse knew he had to leave. So, the young armored boy stepped back inside the Curtis residence and closed the door on them, leaving Sakura and Edward outside in the night. Sakura turned to the door that was shut and narrowed her eyes down at the ground as she heard Edward's footsteps coming closer to her.

Soon, she felt a hand grab the wrist that was not broken as Sakura looked up in shock to see Edward's golden eyes staring right at her. The eyes expressed a sense of anger, suspicion, curiosity, and hesitation. She couldn't understand why those emotions were right in his eyes but she knew she had to be very silent.

For Edward, he always knew something was different about her—a difference that be considered as an aiding difference or the difference that could be considered as a 'dangerous' difference. He wanted to know, he wanted to know how the hell could she do a technique like that. A technique that could turn a person into a log and suddenly be transported into another area with a blink of the eye…

"I know that wasn't alchemy," Edward grinded his teeth, holding her wrist a bit tighter but tried to compose it, for he knew, he didn't want another wrist to be broken, "The technique you did… what is it? Better yet, who are you really…?"

She knew this day would come. She knew he would interrogate her soon enough and she knew that he would possibly turn her in so she could be experimented on. Would he really, though? Would he really turn her in like that…? _If he does… what could be the point of trying to help him so I can get home?! Wasn't that my task in the first place?_

Suddenly, the kunoichi felt the tension forming in her stomach that the first thing she did was slapped off Edward's hand to loosen her grip and stepped back, trembling. Somehow, his golden eyes could make her do something irrational, not to mention fill her body up in fear. There was just something about him comforting yet—there's also something about him that was dangerous that you'd have to run away.

"I…" Sakura was at a loss of words.

"Well?!" Edward didn't care if his hand was slapped away. He just wanted to know answers—isn't that why he was an alchemist? "Sakura, what are you really?! Why did you go all the way here to Dublith to see my teacher?! Were you looking for us because of it?!"

It was too much questions for her to handle. She didn't want to be treated like an enemy. She knew that chances of surviving in another world you didn't know, in another world you had never heard of and that it was just a graphic novel would be extremely low. Sakura kept trembling as she felt her lips frozen. Just looking at Edward made her feel terrified.

No. She wasn't going to be terrified of anything again. She despised acting this way that she walked up to Edward and punched him. Right. On. The. Face.

However, what's odd was that the punch wasn't hard enough to make the person go down on the ground. It was just hard enough to make your head turn slightly yet it wouldn't cause a big bruise. It seemed like Sakura hesitated before punching him. She just couldn't…

Edward felt the pain as his head was turned just a bit when she had punched him. Turning back his head properly, the blonde alchemist looked back at her and saw something he had truly regretted.

Sakura was in tears.

Her face definitely expressed fear, sadness, and utter confusion. What Edward had did scared the living crap out of her that he didn't know how to react after that. Should he stay silent? Or should he just leave her be while he goes inside and curse uncontrollably to God of why he had just done that to her.

He admitted it. Edward hated to see her cry, especially at the first day they had met. He knew he would take things way too far until they would hurt someone that he frowned gently.

The Fullmetal Alchemist looked at Sakura as he watched her sob silently. He watched as the tears were released from her beautiful green orbs as they fall like rivers on her smooth, porcelain face and continue down until the reached her nicely shaped chin. Soon, they fall to their end at the ground—though some go under her chin and race down her frail, slender neck.

Just watching her cry—made him blush though it made him guilty also.

Slowly, he reached a hand out to try and wipe the tears away. Edward didn't know what compelled him to do so but he was just anxious to brush the tears off. Before he would even touch her face, Sakura saw this and slapped his hand away.

Eyes widening, Edward looked as Sakura yelled, "I CAN'T STAND YOU!"

That made him truly regret as Sakura ran past him, hitting his shoulder in the process.

He turned as Sakura ran through the streets and with realization dawning on him, Edward's eyes broadened a bit more.

"SAKURA!" He screamed, running after her, "WAIT! I…!!"

_Damn it_.

Edward Elric had took it way too far now. Far enough that she could never forgive him or what…?

* * *

**A/N: I believe I was a little emotional when I wrote this so I hoped that my ending wasn't too over reacting and too much for you readers! Sorry for taking so long to update, I was just too busy and I also tried to perfect the grammars, even if I know I missed some. –Sigh- But I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**I also liked the Naruto part in this chapter too! Everyone is researching and I tried to add some Sasuke and Kimiko fluff—but it ended up being very minor and inconspicuous. Oh well.**

**This chapter was supposed to be full of fluff but I guess that'll be in the next chapter! It'll be shorter but full of the long awaited Edward Elric x Sakura Haruno fluff!**

**Anyways, I have a question for you readers/reviewers!**

**Question 1: Do you think my character, Kimiko Acari, who is Dante's apprentice, is a Mary-Sue?  
Question 2: Is Uchiha Sasuke OOC?  
Question 3: Is Edward Elric OOC?**

**Let me know in the reviews!**

**Now to answer your reviews to conclude this long chapter!:**

**HipHopFire:** Thanks for checking on it at least once a week but right now, I updated! Its okay if you have a 'little' obsession on it. It lets me know that people like this story a lot and I appreciate it that you keep checking on it! Thanks for the review!

**D3athrav3n92:** Yes I still need a BETA thank you very much! –Sarcasm- XD.

**ShatteredKunai:** I ABSOLUTELY love the pairing too! XP

**Ruu-chan:** Yes, she does know a few things, however, she just began apprenticeship with Tsunade and this is after the Chuunin Exams, she is still very much trying to learn and does not feel accomplished yet with the little things she had learned but thanks for pointing this out!

**xHitsuSaku:** Nope, I don't think Alphonse 'fully' explained what he had seen! You know how little brothers could somehow fear their older brothers now don't you? Thanks for the review!

**Happy2BMe:** Don't worry, I won't tell ANYONE that you told me this because I know I am the best cross over writer that ever lived. XD Kidding. Kidding. However, thank you for the review.

**Lady of Dreams and Nightmares:** Xerxes is a country that laid in the desert in the Fullmetal Alchemist World. It's only in the Manga though and if you want to look, its Volume 14 of FMA Manga. That's all I'll have to explain though XD.

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** NO ALLIE. ALPHONSE DID NOT DIE I THINK YOU DID. XD.

**Chocolat-Chan:** Yes, EdSaku is also my favorite crossover pairing in the whole entire world! It needs some love in the fandom, you know? Yeah, Martel was awesome but Greed—eh, sometimes he's too smexy for a Homunculus that it creeps me out (kind of like Lust)!! But anyways, yes, how will our favorite short alchemist react on Sakura's secret?

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Yes, Ed and Sakura kick ass big time!! Yes, Naruto and the others, I can't forget about them (though I'm still planning a lot on their parts but they will definitely have important parts in this story) Thanks for the review!

And I thank the other reviewers too:  
**SAQ78642, sharingan user27, Kagz, Blackscarlet47, Sapphire**_**  
**_


	17. Chapter 17: Song of Gondola

**A/N: This is a warning: An Edward Elric x Sakura Haruno slight fluff on the way! That's all I can say.**

**Please review, but no flames, however, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

**Still in need of a Beta.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, the plot and the original characters that are not associated in the series are mine. I also don't own the 'Song of Gondola'.

A Chapter in the Manga of "Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden" inspires this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen – Song of Gondola

* * *

The Fullmetal Alchemist looked at Sakura as he watched her sob silently. He watched as the tears were released from her beautiful green orbs as they fall like rivers on her smooth, porcelain face and continue down until the reached her nicely shaped chin. Soon, they fall to their end at the ground—though some go under her chin and race down her frail, slender neck.

Just watching her cry—made him blush though it made him guilty also.

Slowly, he reached a hand out to try and wipe the tears away. Edward didn't know what compelled him to do so but he was just anxious to brush the tears off. Before he would even touch her face, Sakura saw this and slapped his hand away.

Eyes widening, Edward looked as Sakura yelled, **"I CAN'T STAND YOU!"**

That made him truly regret as Sakura ran past him, hitting his shoulder in the process.

He turned as Sakura ran through the streets and with realization dawning on him, Edward's eyes broadened a bit more.

"SAKURA!" He screamed, running after her, "WAIT! I…!!"

_Damn it_.

Edward Elric had took it way too far now. Far enough that she could never forgive him or what…?

* * *

Sakura Haruno ran as fast as she can with tears streaming down her eyes. She dodged any bystander in her way and sometimes, she bumped into them recklessly, but she didn't care. She wanted to get away and maybe, find something to just get her home. Running and accidentally running over someone's shoe, Sakura began to sob ever so silently.

_I'm sick of this! I'm sick of having to argue with him! I don't understand why I—!! _Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence, shutting her eyes as she scurried towards the boardwalk at Kauroy Lake, the lake at Dublith. She didn't know why she ran there but it seemed like it was the only place she could consider of solitude.

She ran as fast and reckless as she can, not knowing there was a rock coming her way that the tip of her foot crashed against it, causing her to trip. Not only did she trip but she fell and started to roll on the hill that was at the side. Sakura started to roll down the hill carelessly, its down-end leading at the lake's waters.

Her sundress was getting muddy as Sakura tried her best to stop herself from rolling any further down—however, the sadness was blocking her realization point. She was going to fall into the water! _Forget this—I really don't care anymore! _She closed her eyes, waiting till her body splashes into the water…

Then, she felt nothing.

She felt no splashing, no drowning, or no sinking into a liquid substance as Sakura opened her eyes to see that her body was off from the ground and that she was being carried by something—or someone. _What the…?_

Sakura blinked a few times until she realized that the 'someone' that was carrying her up from the ground was Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!

It seems like he had managed to catch her before she would roll down to her doom as Edward muttered a few frustrated words from under his mouth. Edward held Sakura tightly, his position quite uncomfortable, seeing that he was standing on the steep hill and that the tip of his right foot was almost close to the water. Gasping for breath, Edward slowly walked up the hill and when he was finally at the tiptop, he placed Sakura down.

Sakura was very much confused. She wondered why he had saved her, even if he was suspicious of her well being in this world. The pink-haired kunoichi watched as Edward dusted himself off and crossed his arms, his intense golden eyes staring at the lake before him. It was nighttime and the stars were out and there was a large full moon.

So, if there was a large full moon, the full moon's reflection would obviously shine on the lake. It was a beautiful sight as Sakura also looked at it…

There was complete silence between them.

No words were shared and their lips did not move. All Sakura and Edward did was watch the lake with their eyes.

Edward honestly did not know what to say to Sakura. He very well knew he had made her upset just by asking her harsh questions with such a rude tone of voice. He didn't mean to, it was just the fact that he had never seen such a technique like that and it was just the fact that in their journeys, many people wanted them dead.

Not to mention the many enemies that Edward made because of his irresponsible and thoughtless behavior to share insults with anyone uncontrollably. He couldn't help it. That was how he was. He was an immature, stubborn, violent, and hot-tempered fifteen-year-old that just so happens to become the youngest State Alchemist in the world.

At first glance, he knew, that people would consider him a mature, wise, and straightforward person because he was part of the military. Oh, how they were so wrong. Edward was the polar opposite of that description. Edward knew he had done some stupid things in his life and he knew he had disrespected many adults, not to mention his own superior officers, especially his colonel, Roy Mustang (though he really doesn't care if he disrespects him. He deserves to be disrespected!)

Now, this is the first time he felt regretful—completely—to anything that he had done. Sure, he would feel guilty and regretful for hurting someone and cursing at their face when obviously they had done nothing but to try and help him (another trait that he had: he was too damn independent). But this was a very different situation.

It involved a girl. With pretty pink-hair and green eyes. That when she cried, it seemed to make his heart sink. It was, of course, a little different when he would hurt his brother because this time—it's a girl! Sure, there's Winry, but he had been used to her crying—she was like a sister. But this is Sakura! Someone who he had hurt way too much, even in the beginning. Her crying, he considered, seemed very foreign yet so sweet to him.

_Why am I such a bastard? Or am I a damn son of another bastard? _Edward cursed himself. He hated comparing himself to his father—who was the 'complete' bastard in his perspective. Shaking his head and not knowing what else to say, Edward began to walk away from Sakura and decided to go to the Kauroy Lake boardwalk.

Seeing that he was walking away, Sakura looked at him, befuddled. Sure, he had hurt her earlier but now, just when he had prevented her from falling into the lake, maybe that was his way of saying 'sorry'. Sakura frowned, regretting she had punched him that way. She deserved to be questioned because she was an outsider—because she did not belong in this world.

Scuttling just a few feet right behind him, Sakura watched as Edward walked at the shores of the lake, his hands casually in his pockets as he spotted a small boat nearby. Raising an eyebrow, Sakura followed him curiously, wondering what he was going to do. When she had noticed that Edward was untying the rope that held the boat to the shore, she knew she just had to run closer.

Edward needed a nice, nightly boat ride alone; he wanted to leave Sakura alone because he knew she did not want to talk to him. He was insensible of her running towards him and getting on the boat as Edward untied the rope completely, grabbed the small paddle, and got on the boat. Sitting down, he straightened his sitting position, only to find Sakura sitting right in front of him in the boat.

"How did you get in here?!" shouted the blonde male as he freaked out hysterically.

Sakura raised an eyebrow again. _Was he that dense to not realize that I followed him all the way here? Not to mention that I cracked a few twigs on the way… _

"Uh… I followed you—that's how I got here." Sakura replied quite sarcastically, hinting him that she had finally calmed down… or at least calmed down, right?

The alchemist stared at her for a moment, sighed heavily, and grabbed the paddle. Soon, he started to row the boat on the lake until it finally stopped at the middle. Edward then placed the paddle at his lap and looked up at the full moon shining upon them. Everything was quiet around them and the only thing they could hear was the small splashes of the water, crickets chirping, and the faint noises from the Dublith city side.

Sakura didn't have time to ever go on a peaceful boat ride in her life—however; she did recall a time where she did have a boat ride. Her green eyes then looked up at moon as she started to remember that one time…

"Like I said," Edward finally spoke, breaking Sakura's train of thought, "Who are you really?"

Sakura shot her head up, a little frightened when he had interrupted her like that. When she heard him spoke—his voice seemed gentle and polite that of course she had to answer truthfully. Besides, he did see her do that otherworldly technique during Greed's battle and he did deserved the truth.

"…" Sakura placed her legs together in the boat and hugged it delicately, "…I don't belong here…"

* * *

_Naruto soon chimed in, "So give it a try! See if you like it, Sakura-chan!"_

_I looked at Naruto's face and he had this pout-look on that was forcing me to read it. Oh, Naruto, please, not that pout look. He also had those puppy cerulean-blue eyes that I feel so weak upon that I just HAVE to do it. I just HAVE to read it. Finally, I glanced at the books again and sighed._

_Nodding my head, I replied, "Alright Naruto, I'll read it. If I don't like it, I'll return it to you. Is that okay?"_

"_That's fine!" Naruto said, waving his hands to signal that it was indeed okay for him, "Besides, I don't think you'll return it to me any sooner. It's a really good comic book; you'll _

_love it when you turn the first page. Its as if you'll be swept away to that world or something."_

* * *

Edward blinked, "What do you mean you don't 'belong' here?"

Clenching her fists as she hugged her legs, Sakura felt that it was harder to tell the truth—especially to a main character, "…Meaning, I don't belong in this very world."

At first, it sounded like it was false but when Edward looked into her emerald eyes—he saw there was no lie. Edward dropped his hands at his sides with his golden eyes widened, astonished. He couldn't believe it, however, she may have a point to what she is saying. The Fullmetal Alchemist remembered something in a few alchemic texts he had read about 'different worlds' but he wasn't sure.

Sakura looked at Edward—who obviously had a shocked facial expression on. She was expecting that. I mean, who can believe the things she said? A girl from another world? Better yet, a female ninja from another world? Sakura felt like she was going to puke on something, however, she tried to restrain herself.

Edward was wordless that Sakura had to continue without him having to comment on anything.

"Yes, I'm from another world." Sakura told him, her eyes looking down at the hands on her lap, "I'm an otherworldly outsider—better yet, I'm a foreigner."

Her lips tremble; it was really hard for her to explain such things as revealing her true self, especially to the main character, which was, of course, Edward Elric. She was terrified on how he would react—or how he would treat her from now on. What if he DOES turn her in? What would happen to her then? How would she even go home if she doesn't complete her task of helping Edward?

For the Fullmetal Alchemist on the other hand, he was thinking this through in his head. He contemplated if it was true. Sure, he had doubts—but the look in Sakura's eyes—it was full of complete honesty. To be honest, Edward could not reject the look in her eyes. It drags him in deeper and deeper than ever before. Other than admiring to stare at her face—what he liked the most was her eyes.

It was the most attractive emerald green color he had ever seen.

There—he caught himself staring at her again. He shook his inconspicuously. Luckily, Sakura did not see this because she was too busy staring but at the indigo-color heavens above her. Edward had noticed that Sakura had grown silent. The blonde alchemist understood why. He, too, had said nothing. He really couldn't say any right words about this matter and all he could do was listen.

Yes, listen—and it was all for her sake.

Though, not only would he have to shut his mouth and listen to every word she was going to say—he was also going to ponder through about this. What he means is that he was going to find out what trigger her to come to this world. He already had a theory that the Gate had brought her here for a reason. Besides, he had heard of the many things that Gate could do. He had also heard many myths about the things beyond the Gate.

_And maybe… _Edward thought, scratching his chin a bit. _Just maybe… we could find answers to what we are looking for. _

He noticed Sakura's lips starting to move after the long silence as he heard: "I know you may not believe me but the only proof that I can give you was the technique I did—back at the Devil's Nest Tavern. The technique that I had used to trick Greed and that had saved you. Yes, that was the proof."

Edward started remembered it clearly. In a flash, he was with Sakura before the damn Homunculus was about to cut him in two with his own fist. All he saw, at his place, was the wooden log. She sure had struck him hard there that he, nonetheless, nodded in agreement. He really can't say anything. Sure, he wanted to but—he knew his mouth would say some words that would anger her.

Edward had to keep his mouth shut—just for once. And maybe this 'just for once' would be right now.

"That technique is called 'Transformation' or 'Substitution'. It could also mean 'Replacement' Technique." Explained Sakura, her teacherly (she didn't know if that was even a word but oh well) voice coming in, "In my world, everyone knows of that technique. In my world, where I came from—it is a world of ninjas."

_W-World of N-Ninjas? _Edward could already feel one of his eyes twitching uncontrollably as he sat there, knowing that there was going to be a big sweat drop on his head.

Ninjas—the term he had read in fiction books. Ninjas were dark, shadowed warriors/creatures of the night that had serious, wacky techniques that could be used against the enemy they were hired to kill. All and all, ninjas were impossible people to find here and were considered a myth in old times. Edward heard that elaborated more on ninjas at the East but he doubt there were any real ones there.

"Ninjas…?"

"That's right," Sakura nodded, "Ninjas."

"So, you mean… in your world—its ninjas?"

"Yes, just like your world—alchemists."

Now that sentence made Edward literally shut his mouth. Who can blame here? He was sure she had never seen alchemists before and no wonder why she always seemed amazed whenever he and Alphonse would do alchemy. If he were in her situation, it would be the same for him too. He wouldn't understand why the different world he was in would work like that.

"I guess you're still confused aren't you?" Sakura asked, seeing that Edward was actually being silent and listening with wide golden eyes.

"On the contrary, yes." Edward replied with a husky and tired voice. It seemed like his vocal chords got a bit tired from yelling too much in the earlier events.

The pink-haired kunoichi had noticed this and simply smiled, hugging her legs tighter as she watched the full moon reflect itself upon the lake. The boat ride was peaceful and quiet. She was actually enjoying Edward's company, even after the argument they hard earlier. She did not want to keep grudges any more and kept her terms in tranquility with Edward. Sakura looked at him—unsure what else to say.

_Well, I already told him that I'm from a different world… _Sakura bit her lip. _I guess he still wants to know more doesn't he? Well, duh, Sakura! Of course he would!_

"Well…"

Sakura looked up as she heard a groan from Edward. Edward was trying to say something to her but his lips wouldn't allow him to do so. However, Sakura waited patiently for what he was about to say. She knew there were bound to be more questions because she seemed so blunt about saying that she was "from another world". Sakura felt herself sigh inwardly.

As for Edward, he tried to muster up the courage to actually say some nice and organized words. Usually, his words would be naturally rude and insulting but now, he's actually _trying_ to say something kinder and politer than he would usually do. Maybe it was the sign that AT LEAST Edward is doing something a bit more mature for once in his life.

"Well…" Edward began, clearing his throat, "Even if what you said sounds a bit far-fetched…"

Sakura prayed—PRAYED—what he would say is the one she would be expecting… though she was half expecting him to say: "I don't believe what you said and I am SO going to turn you in." She hoped he wouldn't say that… she hoped… she hoped…

"I guess I could say I'm convinced."

_Ahh… what?_

Sakura blinked as she stared at Edward, who was currently scratching his head.

"…You're convinced?" Was all she could say back to him…

"I'm not entirely saying that 'I'm convinced'," Edward said, his voice starting to be serious, "You say that you're from another world, you say that you're world is composed by these 'ninjas', and you say that you're here for a reason—but you're not quite sure yet. You gave me reasons and proofs. However…"

The Fullmetal Alchemist tried to systematize his words correctly, however, at that moment, it seemed like a complete blank. Maybe the boat ride and the sounds of the night were disrupting his trail of thoughts that he had some kind of brain fart right then and there. _Damn, I hate it when I have those… _He inwardly punched himself and scratched behind his neck.

"You know what, never mind. Let's just leave my damn hell of a sentence to that," Edward stated in a tired voice, "We'll discuss further tomorrow and right now, I really don't feel like talking or conversing at all."

Just from that, Sakura could tell that Edward was exhausted. She guessed it was his fight, his injuries from the fight, and what he had dealt through. She smiled a little—so he wasn't going to turn her in? Well, she wasn't sure yet because Edward had said they were going to discuss it tomorrow. She sighed tiredly—the events earlier had tired her out also.

Right now, they were in the middle of Kauroy Lake, under the moonlight. The silence was awkward for the two of them as Edward stayed quiet, his arms on his knees while Sakura was hugging her legs. The night was nonetheless very serene and still and the only thing that was heard was the gentle rhythm of the waves in the water and the chirps of the crickets. Everything was in place and the two of them were either oblivious to the other's presence or they were actually enjoying each other's company.

Sakura had honestly never had been in a boat ride in a long time. If she could recall, her mother had told her that she was in a boat ride once—when she was just a 5-month old baby. At that time, her father was with them. Once again, Sakura had realized, ever since she had arrived in the graphic novel, her father would suddenly appear in her mind. She could not understand why but she thought it was nice that she was at least curious of her father.

The pinkette did not remember much about her father, only the stories that her mother would tell. Like before, Sakura knew that her father was not a ninja and from what her mother would say, he was something else—more powerful than a ninja. She did not know what it was but seriously, all the things and events that had occurred—somehow traced back to her father. Sakura shook her head.

_Who is my father really? _

She sighed and decided to switch her thoughts to somewhere else. Unfortunately, the boat ride was reminding her of something—something that was buried beneath her conscious thoughts. That 'something' turned out to be a melody she somewhat remembered.

_A-A melody…?_

It started to play in her head—that sweet melody. She wondered what it was but it was very beautiful and all of the sudden, the words or lyrics started to come in with that melody. Sakura began to hum it uncontrollably, somehow releasing it from her deep mind. She closed her eyes gently as she hummed the song, oblivious to Edward, who was wondering why she was humming.

The melody—the sweet, gentle, and delicate tune—was the melody that her father had sung to her and her mother when they were at the boat ride. She did not comprehend of why she had remembered this melody for she was only five months. It was maybe the reason why she had remembered it because it was the only semblance that was left by her mysterious father.

Oh, it was all coming back to her. The semblance that was left by her father was his voice. She remembered his voice—dark, soothing, and balanced. It was a handsome voice—so enticing and so hypnotizing. Sakura assumed it was his voice that made her mother, Nadeshiko, fall in love with him. Sakura also assumed that it was his voice—that made this melody imprint in her mind.

_Otou-san (1)… Okaa-san (2) and I still remember you… do you remember us?_

As Sakura started to hum a puzzling and unexplainable melody, Edward was just staring. The blonde knew the pink-haired female was in deep thought and was pondering—but he didn't knew that she was actually pondering about some random melody he had never heard before. He raised an eyebrow as he listened to her.

The melody—it seemed familiar to him also. Somehow, in the back of his mind, something was just screaming for him to identify the melody or harmony that Sakura was humming beneath her lips. As Edward tried to think harder, nothing was coming up. The golden-eyed male just sat there, looking at Sakura, curious to what she was doing.

Sakura hummed along as she opened her eyes, realization dawning upon her. She was humming right in front of Edward!

A red, embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks as she stopped humming, worried that Edward might think she was a weirdo. Oh, scratch that, he probably already thought she was a weirdo in the first place because she was an otherworldly person! She hugged her legs tighter than before, humiliated that she was humming something odd in front of the alchemist.

"S-Sorry," She apologized weakly, "I was just…"

"No," Edward replied forwardly as Sakura looked up at him, confused.

"W-What…?"

It seemed like Edward was starting to get fascinated at the tune that his eyes looked softly at her emerald ones.

"What I meant was—continue, please—your humming… it sounds," Edward hesitated for a moment and then continued, "…It sounds nice."

Sakura straightened her throat. Suddenly, the melody, the rhythm, the tune, and the lyrics bombarded within her head…

"_Inochi mijikashi… Koi seyo otome…" _Sakurastarted to sing weakly, _"Akaki kuchibiru…"_

Edward's eyes widened as he heard her sing another language. He may not understand it but—he liked how it was flowing in her sweet little voice. Wait, did she just say sweet? Okay, Edward Elric does NOT say that about anyone—but at the moment, he did. He half cursed himself and he half sighed in relief. Either way, he enjoyed the melody.

"Is that a song from your world?" Edward questioned, "It's pretty."

"Ah…!" Sakura blinked, "Yes… it's called the 'Gondola no Uta' (3) or… in your words, 'Song of Gondola' I believe."

For the first time—in a long time—Edward felt refreshed. He did not know why. He did not know how. He felt so damned relax in a long time. It was like all the events that had happened in his life, except the Human Transmutation happening of course—it felt like all those events did not happen at all.

"I want to hear it again," He told her gently, "Please, sing it properly."

A full, red blush stretched across Sakura's cheeks as her hands that were upon her lap began to tremble. _He… he liked it? He wanted to listen to it again…? But it was in another…_

Before she could even continue her thoughts, Sakura started to sing in a hushed yet saccharine tone of voice:

_Inochi mijikashi…  
Koi seyo otome…  
Akaki kuchibiru…  
Asenu ma ni…_

When the song began to play out of her lips, Edward's golden eyes had widened. That melody, that tune, and those lyrics—it became familiar to him. It was as if he had known that song all his life. Even if it was in another language, the translations somehow appeared in Edward's mind. The translations had inflicted upon his thoughts as Edward winced a bit from the infliction—though his wince was barely audible to Sakura.

Soon, his lips parted…

_**Life is brief…  
Fall in love, maidens…  
Before the crimson bloom…  
Fades from your lips…**_

When she had heard his voice singing, Sakura looked up at him—in shock. _Did he just sing the same song… yet in Amestrian? _

However, she kept singing, wondering how he was able to…

_Atsuki chishio no…  
Hienu ma ni…  
Asu no tsukihi no…  
Nai mono wo…_

And after that, his hard yet alluring voice continued shortly…

_**Before the tides of passion  
Cool within you,  
For those of you  
Who know no tomorrow…**_

She stared at him with her emerald eyes, astonished. She kept wondering how he was able to sing the song—even in Amestrian. However, the Amestrian version kept in tune with her language of the song. _This was odd… did this song exist in Amestrian too?! _

_Inochi mijikashi…  
Koi seyo otome…  
Iza te wo torite…  
Ka no fune ni…_

_**Life is brief…  
Fall in love, maidens…  
Before his hands…  
Take up his boat…**_

_Iza moyuru ho wo…  
Kimiga ho ni…  
Koko ni wa dare mo…  
Konu mono wo…_

_**Before the flush of his cheeks fades…  
For those of you…  
Who will never return here…**_

The two of them sat in the boat, singing the tempting and saccharine melody of Gondola. Fireflies began to be attracted for it soon surrounded them, their gentle lights leading the way around the boat. The moon seemed brighter on the reflection of the water as Edward and Sakura smiled, their voices—so enchanting.

Edward never knew he could sing—he never even thought of ever singing in his life. However, this melody seemed to fascinate him and captivate him in many ways. A small smile appeared on his lips as it parted, continuing to sing with the pink-haired female with him.

_Inochi mijikashi…  
Koi seyo otome…  
Nami ni tadayou…  
Fune no yo ni…_

_**Life is brief…  
Fall in love, maidens…  
Before the boat drifts away…  
On the waves…**_

As they sang the song, there was a deep and immense connection happening between the two of them. Their hearts starts to beat, the blush beginning to stretch on their cheeks, and the profound eye contact they were making. They could not explain what it was, however, they started to like it.

This kept happening when they continued the song. Gentle waves crashing against their boat and the fireflies' lights illuminating the darkness, Edward and Sakura felt at peace for once…

_Kimiga yawate wo…  
Waga kata ni…  
Koko niwa hitome mo…  
Nai mono wo…_

_**Before the hand resting on your shoulder…  
Becomes frail…  
For those who will never…  
Be seen here again…**_

Their melodies and their voices uniting with each other, Sakura did not hesitate to sing anymore and so did Edward. They sang they're hardest, as if there was an audience watching them. They did not know what controlled them to do so but they liked it—they really enjoyed it. They enjoyed the song, they enjoyed the scenery, and most of all… they enjoyed each other's company.

For Edward, something was different in his mind. There was something nagging him about the song they were singing and Sakura. He did not know what but all he could think of was…

* * *

"_Agneta was ruled by a great king who was very caring, sociable, dependable, and had every good trait a king should have. He also had one daughter who was the Princess. He loved her very much and was willing to protect her._"

"_The name of the Princess was unknown but in the story she was described as a beautiful girl—as stunning as the cherry blossoms. The Princess also loved her father and most of all—she loved the cherry blossoms. She would plant one everyday around the garden and she would watch them bloom each and everyday."_

"_The King went obsessed with alchemy and he didn't even have time to be with his kingdom of Agneta or even his daughter. Then, the worse came—the king had found something that would grant him the power of Immortality and would make him stay young forever. However, the thing he found needed a sacrifice… of a pure and innocent human being_."

"_Insanely, the king decided to target the last person he wanted to kill: The Princess, his own daughter."_

"_Slowly realizing that he had killed his own daughter to find the true power of immortality, he cried in despair and wanted his beautiful daughter back. So, then, the last resort was to create something—transmuting his daughter with it."_

"_Then, when he had transmuted her, the Princess became alive again yet… there was a price for her life. The price for her life was she had to become the Catalyst of Alchemy… and her heart is the, what said to be, the Philosopher's Stone_."

* * *

_Why did I suddenly think of that fairy tale? _Edward wondered as he shook his head.

The fairy tale that he and Alphonse had read when they were children appeared in his mind out of nowhere that Edward did not know how to have a handle on with it. All he could do was shook his head a couple of times and let the thought wander out from his head. However, he could not. Somehow, the song was just reminding him of that story.

Soon, something else went in his head:

* * *

"_The blood is poison; a heart with no bounds and the most beautiful at first glance and withers as soon as it is pained. A face sent from above to only be surrounded by the cruelty of humanity."_

* * *

_The riddle too?! What the hell?! What is it trying to tell me?! _

Edward was at a rage in his mind as he shook it once more. The only way he could take his mind off of those things was to continue singing…

_Inochi mijikashi…  
Koi seyo otome…  
Kurokami no iro…  
Asenu ma ni…_

_**Life is brief…  
Fall in love, maidens…  
Before the raven tresses begin to fade…  
Before the flame in your hearts…**_

While they sang in harmony, Sakura was also having a few thoughts in mind. The song started to remind her of her missing father—and also that fairy tale that Alphonse had told her. She did not know how that came in mind but it was starting cause her a few Goosebumps. The hair in her skin began to stick up as her voice started to hesitate again.

_Something… is in my thoughts…_

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and when she did, voices began converse in her head…

* * *

"_All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only dose permits something not to be poisonous…"_

"_Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange."_

"_The Philosopher's Stone. Those who possess it no longer bound by the law of equivalent exchange in alchemy, can gain without sacrifice… without equal exchange…"_

"_She is the only one capable to keep it. And one day, when the time is right, she'll overpower that… that monster… once and for all."_

"_Edward Elric needs your help."_

"_You have something inside of you that will stop them."_

"_Money!! Sex!! Power!! Fame!! I want everything in the world—especially ETERNAL LIFE!"_

"_The price for the Princess' life was she had to become the Catalyst of Alchemy…"_

**"…_And her heart is the, what said to be, the Philosopher's Stone_."**

* * *

The voices—those words—spiraling inside her mind as the last words that Sakura managed to sing from her lips were…

_Kokoro no honoo…_

_Kienu ma ni…_

_Kyou wa futatabi…_

_Konu mono wo…_

And with that Sakura eyes rolled back, closing as she collapsed in the boat, making the boat shake. Edward saw this and his eyes had widened. He then scrambled towards her frantically, holding up the pink-haired girl's head to get a better look of what had happened. Edward was shocked that she had fainted out of nowhere as he tried to call her name…

"Sakura." Edward called, shaking her, "Sakura. Sakura! SAKURA!"

No answer.

Edward held her, shaking her, his golden-eyes in fear of what had happened.

"Sakura! Wake up!" He demanded, even if she was currently limping in his arms.

Unfortunately, the only thing could do was to paddle the boat back to shore hurriedly—with the unconscious Sakura in his arms. He did not know what had happened but this was urgent and he needed to find out what caused her to faint. _Why did she faint?! What the fuck had happened?!_

Then, something had hit him…

The last words she had sang…

_**Before the flame in your hearts…**_

_**Flicker and die…**_

_**For those to whom today…**_

_**Will never return…**_

* * *

**A/N: Chapter Seventeen has been finally posted! Hooray! I'm sorry for the late update again—I've been so busy and school's coming up. I thought summer was going to be free and fun but no, it isn't! –sigh- Well, sorry for the long wait but here is chapter seventeen! Did you guys enjoy it? You better!**

**To be honest, I didn't think I did so well in this chapter—especially the ending when Sakura-chan had fainted! I'm sorry if it wasn't good, I'll try and edit it once again if needed!**

**Glossary:**

(1) **Otou-san** – Father

(2)** Okaa-san** – Mother

(3) **Gondola no Uta/Song of Gondola **– Gondola no Uta is a song that was popular in the year 1915 of Japan's Taisho period.

**Review Replies! (From Chapter Sixteen):**

**15mcheng:** This is serious your favorite story ever? Thank you! –blushes- And okay, okay, don't get so demanding, I'm already typing, sheesh!

**Darthgamer:** That's a great idea! I should really add more Japanese Titles to her techniques since she is from another world. Thanks for pointing this out, I'll definitely use this in future chapters!

**Sakura Inoue:** I made you fall in love with Ed x Sakura? Haha, yeah, it needs more love! Thanks for the review!

**Inner Cameron:** Whoa! So many questions much—but I won't give you specific answers because that'll just ruin the story. Are Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke going to the FMA world? Maybe. Is Sakura ever going to learn alchemy or just keep the ninjutsu techniques? I'll tell you that Sakura will have an intimate understanding of alchemy—but it's a definite MAYBE that she'll learn alchemy in the future. Is she going to die? Ehh. I'll let you think about that yourself.

**3Luna21:** Thanks for pointing it out about the Kimiko Mary-Sue debate! She does seem to be a little bit of a Mary Sue and Sasuke and Edward? Yeah, they do seem, a tiny bit of OOC. I'll try to work on that a little bit more. I don't want people complaining –sweat drops- Thanks for the review!

**Lady of Dreams and Nightmares:** Mary-Sue means if she is of perfect character.

**Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha:** Ahh! Your eye surgery! How was it? Please tell me you're okay, Allie, and I hope this story will cheer you up! Thanks for pointing out the OOC-ness in the characters and thanks about the opinion about Kimiko! I'll work hard on it!

**Nikooru-sama:** Yes, got to love Edward making Sakura cry! XD. Anyways, thanks for stating your opinions about my questions. I needed the help!

**Happy2Bme:** Yes, EdSaku thing is the main couple of this story so it's going to continue!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** Edward is indeed our favorite jerk. XD. But hey, that's his character. He makes everyone cries—its natural for him. And yes, I'll try to make Sasuke a little colder and meaner than he should have. Thanks for the review!

**The-Living-Shadow:** Yes, Ed was a jerk. But I'm sure he'll get over it right? XP. Thanks for the review!

And I thank the other reviewers too:

**VampireprincessSakura, Chocolat-Chan, ruu-chan, and Princess de la Luna**


	18. Chapter 18: Spilling the Heart Out

**A/N: Let out a sigh of relief because the story is continued...  
**

**Please review but no flames! However, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped. (Which means, long reviews of telling why you like the story. That makes me want to continue more than ever)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, I do own the plot and characters that are not associated with the two shows.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Spilling the Heart Out

* * *

All Sakura Haruno could ever remember was darkness.

She could not recall what had happened. The only thing she could remember was complete and utter darkness.

It was so dark. Wherever she would go, there would be darkness. Whenever she turned, there would be darkness. Her surroundings, her position, and her point in life were in darkness. Seeing all of this, the pink-haired kunoichi felt terrified and confused. She did not want to be inside a place where there was no semblance of light. She did not want to be in a place where all you could see is a black abyss.

Sakura Haruno did not want to be at the point of no return.

Her mind began to blur as she felt the pain rising internally. She did not know where this pain was coming from nor did she know why it was hitting her directly. Sakura tried to gasp for something that would release her from this pain, however, nothing came. _W-What is this pain…? Why is it hurting me torturously? _

Suddenly, it came to her. The pain she was feeling was the same pain when she would try to do a jutsu or one of her ninja techniques.

It was the same pain that became excruciating in each experience. It was the same pain that prevented her from defending herself.

Lastly, it was the same pain—that brought her in this never ending darkness.

She did not know what it was or why it brought her to nothing but darkness…

But Sakura mourned to get out of it. She wants light. She wants to be free. She wants to let go of this throbbing ache. She knew she didn't deserve this. She just—she just wants to be herself again. She wants to be the average kunoichi of Konohagakure again.

Most of all, she wants to go home.

Yes, home, to where she belongs. She wants to be back at her house—with her sweet, loving, and caring mother, Nadeshiko. She wants to be at her team's side again—with Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, and even, Sasuke Uchiha. She wants to be teased by her so-called rival, Ino Yamanaka. Sakura wants to smell fresh Konoha air and see the kind people she knew pass by her. She wants to go on missions. She wants to continue being Tsunade's apprentice so she can be the most necessary ninja to her team and to her village.

However, she knew she had another duty…

"_**Edward Elric needs your help…"**_

Ever since she received the graphic novel of Fullmetal Alchemist from her teammate, Naruto Uzumaki, her life began to change. Sucked in the mysterious book by an unknown force, Sakura was now part of its mysterious story. Like a character in a story, Sakura must have a position in the whole plot.

What was her position?

To help the main character, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, accomplish his goal.

Technically, Sakura thought it was typically cliché, however, when the story started to expand in her very eyes—not everything seems to be in place. Basically, in Sakura's view, everything was out of hand. The things she saw were unexplainable to her. They were something that Sakura had never sought to see in her life...

For example, something that Sakura did not understand was—**alchemy**.

What was alchemy? Sakura would ask that question every time it was mentioned. Sure, when she had asked the question and when it was answered—it still felt unclear. The answers that were given to her about alchemy were a complete blur. She did not know the whole point, the whole notion, and its laws. Even if it was elaborated to her, the pinkette still did not understand.

But, one thing's for sure, Sakura knew she had a strong connection to it. Alchemy, even if it gave her phenomenal feeling, Sakura felt like she knew the word. She felt that the word 'alchemy' was familiar and that it had been there for her since she was born. Sometimes, when she would think about this, it gave her a shivering feeling in her spine. It was a certain feeling that was supernatural and spiritual at the same time.

_Alchemy… what is it to me…? _Sakura's thoughts echoed in the darkness. _Why does it feel so familiar…?_

"_**Alchemy is based on the concept of Equivalent Exchange, which follows the scientific principle of the conservation of matter and the laws of nature…"**_

There it was again… that mysterious voice that would echo in Sakura's mind. It was the same voice that pulled her in the book and it was also the same voice that told her position in the book and what she must do in order to get home. Sakura felt her teeth grinding against each other—why does it always come in the oddest of times?

_I-It's you again… that voice… why do you keep toying with me? _She asked with such a weak tone of voice.

"_**I am not toying with you. I am merely explaining what alchemy was all about. Isn't that what you wanted to know, Haruno Sakura?"**_

Was this voice reading her mind again? Sakura wanted to punch whatever it was but right now, she could not see anything.

_No matter how many times someone explains alchemy… it will just be a mythical power that exists in this book. Frankly, I don't even believe in it._

"_**Oh! But alchemy is real! It is very much real…"**_

Sakura only snorted displeasingly.

"_**The concept of alchemy exists all around the world. Have you ever heard of the quote—'All is one and one is all'? Come now, child, you must have heard of it haven't you?"**_

Now that she could think about it, Sakura did recall of a time when her sensei, Kakashi, spoke of that quote once and compared to teamwork…

_Yes, I've heard of it…_

"_**See? If you were to find out what that quote means and trace it back—it leads all the way to alchemy. Alchemy is a useful thing in the world, without it, the balance of life will become corrupt…"**_

_I get it. I get it. But what does it have to with me?! It was never my choice to end up in a graphic novel nor was it my choice to ever be involved in this alchemy mambo-jumbo! __**You**__ were the one that dragged me into this—__**you**__ were the one that sucked me in the book! It was your voice I've heard before I was sucked in!_

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She was at her breaking point and even in the darkness, she began to cry.

_All I want is to go home! I want to see my friends, my teammates, my village, and my mother! I want my life back! I never wanted this to happen! I blame you and everything that you had put me through! I want… I want…_

Then, she could not finish her sentence anymore. Something inside of her hesitated and it prevented her from answering the question. Soon, the pink-haired girl's thoughts froze. She was… she was so unsure…

"_**Before you can continue, what do you really want?"**_

_What do I really want…? _Sakura felt the pain that was residing inside her—slowly disappearing…

And the only thing she felt inside her chest, where her heart is—was utter confusion. It was the kind of confusion where you don't know what you stand on or where your position was in a certain matter. That was what Sakura felt.

"_**You said you wanted to see your friends, your mother, your acquaintances, your teachers, and your life back to normal. However, something inside of you is still vague—your inner want. Sakura Haruno, what is it that you truly desire?"**_

_I… truly desire…?_

"_**Yes, you want something. Something in this world that you always wanted to have…"**_

_What I always wanted… what I always wanted…_

Sakura began to chant those words in her mind like a mantra. The pain and the confusion were disappearing quickly when Sakura tried to sort her feelings. What did she truly want? Were all the things she wanted, like seeing her friends, reuniting with her mother, going through her missions, and having her old life back… were they all worth it to her now?

Did she truly want to go home?

Sakura knew she said it a couple of times but was she true to what she always said? Was it really making sense to her at all?

"_**Do you really want to go home?"**_

When the voice asked her that question, Sakura felt her breath stop and her heart aching. Why was her heart aching? Did she really want to go home?

Questions racing in her head, Sakura had finally realized something. She finally realized that she wanted something… something that she always wanted back in her world…

_I… I want… I want to be accepted…_

Acceptance.

That was what Sakura wanted inside; the one she always looked for. Sure, she was accepted back in her village but here, she was accepted in such a different way. She was accepted happily. The people in this world didn't care where she came from or who she was because of her appearance—they cared about who she was in the inside. They cared about her personality and what she was, inside and out.

That was something Sakura secretly wished for.

However, she wanted something else. It was something that her heart always yearned for… It was…

_I want… I want…_

She wanted to say it so badly. She wanted to let the words flow out from her lips. She did not want to keep it anymore that she…

_I want to love…_

Love who? Who did she want to love? Who did Sakura Haruno _want_ to _love_…?

Unfortunately, before she could say anything else—she woke up.

* * *

"Brother!"

The armored Alphonse Elric slammed the door open as Edward Elric jumped up in shock.

"AL!!" Edward shouted, "What the hell was that for?! Did you not know that Sakura's sleeping?!"

"I-I'm sorry, brother." Alphonse apologized, his armored head looking down at the wooden floor, "I didn't know. I was just really worried about her…"

Upon hearing his brother's reason, Edward's face softens and sighed, already regretting about yelling at his own little brother. Besides, Edward knew that Alphonse was still a child bounded to armor. There was no reason for him to overreact at every mistake Alphonse does. Edward needed to be a good example for him.

"Understandable." Edward responded, patting his brother's shoulder, "Sorry for yelling. I was just stressed out."

Alphonse nodded and settled himself on the large chair beside Edward. Luckily, the chair didn't break and it was able to hold Alphonse's armor weight in place. Soon, the two brothers were silent, carefully watching the sleeping Sakura.

After a few minutes of watching her, Alphonse spoke up, "Brother… what happened…? A minute ago she was fine and now, she's not… what did you do to her?"

Gritting his teeth, Edward felt like he blamed himself for doing it but…

"I don't know, Al." The blonde said, narrowing his eyes at the pink-haired girl on the bed, "It happened all too fast… I didn't even know what was going on."

"But whatever caused her to faint… it must be something serious." Alphonse stated.

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to teacher about it." Alphonse explained, turning to his brother with serious 'eyes', "Remember, Sakura was here at Teacher's before we came along right?"

"Yeah… so what about it?"

"I asked teacher if she had fainted before… and teacher said yes."

Golden eyes widening, Edward felt his lips tremble at what Alphonse had said that he didn't know how to react. The first emotion he felt was concern and then it was worry. Soon, it boiled up into anger. _Sakura had been fainting the whole time… _Edward thought, clenching his fists inconspicuously. _But why… why did she?_

"Did teacher tell you anything else?" Edward asked.

Alphonse replied, "Yes. I then asked teacher of how she fainted. Teacher said that she had sent Sakura to the training island and things started to occur…"

"Occur?"

"Yes." Alphonse continued, "Mason, who was watching her the whole time, had said that she had done a weird hand sign that wasn't an alchemic signal. Instead, she had done something with her fingers, triggering **something** dangerous in her body."

"…Something dangerous, huh?" Edward bit his lip.

"Mason said it caused her to feel vulnerable and extremely weak—like all the energy that was flowing in her body immediately dropped. He didn't know how it happened but Sakura wasn't breathing well. So, he took her out of the island and back."

As Edward heard Alphonse's information on what had happened to Sakura, he started to contemplate deeply on the matter.

However, for Alphonse, he knew the reason of why Sakura probably felt that way. He was scared though… scared to tell his brother of what he really knew. _Brother, if I tell you, what will you do then? _Alphonse thought, trembling unobtrusively.

The words that Greed had said and the things that he had seen—was it all true? Was Sakura really the…

"Brother!" Alphonse called Edward, "Look! Sakura's moving."

Whirling his head instantaneously to Sakura, the Fullmetal Alchemist watched as the pinkette began to tremble and move in her sleep. _She's alright…_

"Mmm…" Sakura mumbled in her sleep.

"Is she okay?" Alphonse whispered to Edward.

"I don't know… she has been sleeping for a while…"

The kunoichi opened her emerald-green eyes as she stared up at the two faces looking down upon her. At first she was going to scream in shock but then, she smiled weakly and let out a small cough. Edward and Alphonse sighed in relief to see that she was okay yet they were very much troubled.

"Guys…" Sakura spoke softly, "What's going on…?"

Her vision was slightly blurred but when it cleared, she finally saw the smiling faces of both Edward and Alphonse.

"E-Edward-kun… Alphonse-kun…" Her eyes expressed content.

"Sakura, you're awake!" Alphonse exclaimed.

Sakura sat up properly on the bed, her hand ruffling her own bangs. She felt like something had hit her pretty hard. _What a headache…_

Edward curled a frown on his lips. It felt like it was his fault she fainted.

Noticing that Edward was quiet, Sakura turned to him, her green eyes filled with concern. _Edward…_

"Um… Ed…"

When he heard his name, Edward looked back at her.

Slowly placing a reassuring smile upon her face, Sakura said, "Ed, I'm okay, really."

Edward's eyes softened. He knew what she was trying to say to him. She was trying to say that she did not want him to worry and she was actually concerned about his feelings. This made Edward have another different view about Sakura. However, being obdurate as he is, he will never reveal that point.

So, crossing his arms, Edward responded, "Tch. I know. You don't have to remind me."

When he crossed his arms, Edward did a 'huff' and blushed discreetly. Sakura only giggled at that.

Alphonse was still worried about Sakura's state that he said, "Are you sure that you're okay, Sakura? I mean, you were out of it for hours!"

The pink kunoichi turned to Alphonse and scratched her cheek, "Really? It only felt like minutes that I was sleeping."

"No. It was about three hours that you were sleeping!" Alphonse exclaimed.

"Three—_hours_?"

Honestly, Sakura had thought it was only minutes. Sakura rubbed her temples. The headache only worsened. She groaned silently and placed a hand on the sheets, gripping it tightly.

Suddenly, the same pain she felt over and over again erupted inside of her. It was the pain when she could not activate any of her ninja techniques. Sakura muttered words under her breath about this certain agony.

_Not again… _She thought.

To cover up the tightening feeling, Sakura spoke hoarsely, "Um, guys, I don't know if this is too much to ask but I need water…"

Edward's eyes broadened when Sakura started to react in such a sore way. _Something's still bothering her…_

Reluctantly, Alphonse stood up, "I'll get water for you, okay Sakura?"

Sakura beamed, "Thanks, Al."

And with that, the armored boy quietly left the room, leaving Edward and Sakura alone again.

"…"

"…"

The silence erupted between them as Sakura's lips trembled, wanting to say something to him.

"By the way," Edward's hard voice spoke out loud. Sakura looked up to him.

"W-What?"

"We haven't finished our conversation at the boat yet…" Edward told her.

"Conversation…?"

Edward almost slapped himself on the forehead. Had she forgotten already? He couldn't blame her. Besides, with all the events, the arguments, and the many predicaments that had went by… it was all too stressful. _I really can't blame her, can I?_

Sakura noticed Edward becoming frustrated. She then frowned a bit. _Conversation… wait…_

"Oh!" Sakura—_cutely_—remembered; her green eyes broadening at the memory, "_That_ conversation…"

"Yes! Finally you remembered!" shouted Edward sarcastically, rolling his golden eyes.

Sakura twitched.

"Hey! I just woke up! What do you expect?" The kunoichi snapped at him.

She wanted to say more to him but she also remembered… they recently had an argument. The young Haruno did not want that to happen again. She did not want to deal with another long and aggrandizing riot between her and Edward. Sakura rubbed her temples again.

"Nevermind." Sakura murmured but audible enough for the alchemist to hear, "Yes… the conversation…"

"Good then… were on the same line now." Edward crossed his arms.

Now it was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes. Edward's sarcasm really did bother her, sometimes.

Wait… _scratch that_. It bothered her all the time.

"Okay… that entire thing aside," Edward said, adjusting his position in his seat, "… Start please."

Sakura felt her voice crash inside of her. It was the moment of truth… it was…

She was going to explain to him the whole thing. The entire thing about who she was and what she really was. _This is going to be one heck of a talk…_

The female looked through the male's golden eyes…

She sighed. It seems like it was the only thing she could do at the moment.

* * *

"… Like I said before…" Sakura hesitated, "I'm a female ninja—or a kunoichi for that matter."

"I am a kunoichi, born and raised from the village called Konohagakure no Sato or The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Ever since I was little, I was trained to become one of the future ninjas of our village… so I can protect any dangers that may occur in the nearby future. It was a goal and duty that I must do and I was willing to do it."

"Ninjas, eh?" Edward said.

"Yes. Ninjas or Shinobi… whatever you want to call it. I was one of them, perfecting my trainings and techniques to be suitable enough. It was the same thing with other students. We also have tests too, which was sometimes hard and easy… depending on your knowledge. It was all about skill and intelligence. If you don't have the right amount of those, you might as well quit being a ninja before it's too late."

As Sakura explained every detail of what she can of each term that Edward did not understand. She explained the many different jobs of a Shinobi; from D-Rank missions to S-Rank missions… she clarified it all to him. She also elaborated on the regions, the places, and the many landmarks of her world. She tried her best to remember what the places looked like and how they were in comparison to the places of Amestris.

She watched how Edward would widen his golden eyes just a bit. She knew that the young alchemist was very curious about her world and had tons of questions. However, Edward promised he'd kept himself quiet and ask the questions when she was finished. Sakura grinned at that. Like she had said in her mind before: No wonder why her friends at Konoha loved the Fullmetal Alchemist graphic novel.

Then, Sakura came to the topic of herself—about how she was paired up in a very odd team that consisted of a loudmouthed, obnoxious ninja by the name of Uzumaki Naruto, a quiet, rude, and cold ninja named Uchiha Sasuke, and a very mysterious and tardy teacher named Hatake Kakashi. She described what they were individually and how they were at first impression. She then came to a point where she emphasized on how they had gotten close and their many adventures together.

The Haruno did not know why but… she automatically started to talk about the close people she was with and the fun missions she attended. Maybe it was the fact that she missed Konoha so much. She missed the people that were around her and the many duties she had as a ninja. She missed the village air, the village noises, and the village aura. To get straight to the point, Sakura was homesick and Edward saw that it was written all over her face.

As for Edward, he let the girl speak. He had to admit—other serious conversations he would be in—he would interrupt them with flabbergasted questions. However, this time, Edward tried to keep himself quiet… though he was persistent to speak. Luckily, he restrained himself. If he were to disrupt the pink-haired girl, there would be another problematic argument and he didn't want to go through that again.

He really hated having arguments.

So, what did the great Fullmetal Alchemist do? Sit back, relax, and let Sakura babble on her explanation.

Many expressions and facial features were on Sakura's face. Edward saw this and felt amused. Whatever her story was, Sakura's jade-green eyes would drastically change into a deep emotion and her voice would either tremble or become high-pitch, depending on the story. This entertained the alchemist but it also made him realize… Sakura _really_ wanted to go home.

He didn't know why… but he felt a tight twinge of pain in his chest. Her face, her expression, and everything… it reminded him of how he was. Edward may be a stubborn smartass but deep down, he had a soft spot that he would hide. No one has ever seen it… well, maybe Alphonse and Winry had… but he tried his best to prevent anyone else to see it. For Edward, that 'softness' was a sign of weakness to him.

Heck, he was in the military… so there were more reasons for him to keep that tough façade.

Sakura was almost at the conclusion of her story… The day when she was sucked inside of the comic book…

"… And it just so happened to be the day Sasuke-kun…"

Sakura's voice felt like drifting away when her eyes dulled. She started to remember of that day when Sasuke rejected her completely…

* * *

"_B-But… Sasuke-kun… I…!!"_

"_Sakura, your annoying… haven't you had enough?"

* * *

_

That memory shook her that Sakura realized that it became a little too personal. _I have to stop myself… I'm supposed to be explaining why I'm here… or how I got here… not spilling my heart out of stupid things!_

"I mean… forget I said that." Sakura smiled nervously. Edward saw through that smile.

"… Wait."

"Eh?"

"…What about this Sasuke guy?" Edward questioned.

He did not know why he asked that question though…

Sakura bit her lip hard. She knew she was drifting away from the real topic and talking about the private things in her heart, especially about her love for Sasuke Uchiha. She was saying all of these things to someone she barely knew but…

"I… like I said, it's nothing!"

Sakura tried to ignore his question and turned her head away. She gripped on the sheets at the bed, trying to resist herself from trying to remember…

_Sasuke…_

Just the thought of him made Sakura's heart ache. She thought she would be over him. She thought that he was nothing to her now. She thought that…

She didn't love him anymore. She thought it was just a silly little crush.

Soon, before Sakura knew it, there was a heavy shift on the bed.

Turning around, Sakura saw Edward's face very close to hers… his golden eyes in frustration.

Her eyes widened in shock. Why was he this close to her now? What does he want…?

"Damn it, Sakura," He cursed at her, "As an alchemist, I deserve to know the truth… so whatever your hiding right now… you have to tell me."

"…"

Sakura did not respond to him. When she did not, Edward was about to yell at her…

_Wait… is she… going to cry? _

Edward saw it. Sakura's jade green eyes began to express grief, sorrow, and sadness. Her eyes looked like it was trembling as were her red lips. Sakura bit it, restraining herself not to cry again. She did not know why she was becoming like this. She could not understand that… why did she suddenly become so weak? She wasn't like this in her world! She trained under the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade! She needed to know how to be strong!

Haruno Sakura definitely _wasn't_ a crybaby!

_But why… why now? _

Before the tears would appear, Sakura shifted her hands to her eyes and tried to wipe them away. She did not want to cry in front of someone anymore… especially Edward. She did not want him to see… she did not want him to see…

_Every time—when it's something about Sasuke-kun… I…_

Was Sakura still in love with Sasuke? But, she said she was over him—why did it come back now?

Wasn't she in love with someone other than Sasuke? Didn't she have feelings for…?

Wait! No, it can't be… _it can't be true_…

She released her hands away and looked up at Edward, realizing he was quiet the whole time. Usually, when she would start to cry, Edward would stubbornly say something. However, nothing came. She did not hear his voice nor did she sense him do anything at all. He didn't even start to shoot questions about where she had come from. This was something odd for her and maybe for those who knew Edward as well.

When the pink-haired girl glanced at Edward… all she saw was him, staring at her intensely with those amber-golden eyes. The same golden eyes that she had seen in the front cover of the graphic novel. The same graphic novel that Naruto gave her and… the same one that sucked her in. Who knew that she could ever see his eyes up close?

"E-Ed…"

He did not say anything. Instead, he continued to stare at her intently. She wasn't sure if he was angry or was upset with her that she would not tell explain to him anything else. She hoped that she he wasn't angry; she really didn't want to have another fight.

"You're really this pathetic, you know."

His lips moved and words actually came out, breaking the silence. On a daily basis, whenever someone insulted Sakura, she would yell at them and hit them on the face.

However, not this time… not to Edward…

The words he said—even if it was kind of cold and harsh—it stopped her from crying. The tears that were about to well up in her eyes disappeared immediately.

"H-How did you… Ed-kun?"

"Just _shut up_,"

Edward rolled his eyes and sat back on his chair properly. He crossed his arms and had an annoyed face on. Sakura stared at him. Wasn't he supposed to say something after her whole explanation? Like a train of questions or…?

"Ed-kun, aren't you…?"

"Rest." Edward sighed, "You're so damn persistent. It's making my heard hurt. Ouch…"

Sakura froze for a moment at what he had said but, within a few seconds, a soft smile stretched upon her lips. Something about Edward made her feel content again, diminishing those insecure feelings about her crush back at Konoha…

"Edward."

"What now?!"

The Haruno flinched when he shouted. She then cleared her throat, keeping herself from stuttering.

"I wanted to say…"

"What?"

"I…"

**SLAM!**

Before she would utter the words she wanted to say, the door slammed open. Sakura and Edward whirled their heads around.

"Brother! Sakura!" The voice of a breathless Alphonse shouted.

Edward stood up from the chair he was sitting on, "What the hell is it, Al?"

"Is everything alright?" Sakura questioned, "I was wondering why it was taking you such a long time to get a glass of water…"

"About that…" Alphonse said, 'sweat dropping', "Anyways, teacher said that we had a call from Winry, wondering how we are…"

_Winry… Rockbell? _The name seemed so familiar to Sakura until it hit her. She was her first friend that was actually her age!

"Winry…?" Sakura asked out loud.

Edward turned his head to her and raised an eyebrow, "You know her?"

"Yes. I do!" Sakura exclaimed, trying to forget the long explanation she gave to Edward about her world, "I met her at Elycia's party."

"I see. That's great then!" Alphonse said with a happy tone of voice.

"What do you mean, Al?" Edward asked.

"Brother, your automail… remember?"

Edward's eyes broadened and looked at his metal arm. It was busted big time!

"Ah, shit. I almost forgot about that!" Edward freaked, "We have to head to Rush Valley so I can get this thing prepared."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to suggest." Alphonse replied.

"… Oh, since she called… you didn't tell her about my automail did you?"

"… Uh, of course not. We'll just let her see it when you get there…"

"Crap. Then I better be ready for a beating."

Sakura was sort of confused. They were going back and forth at each other. _Rush Valley, huh? So, they're going to Rush Valley for repairs…_

"Sakura,"

"Ah, yeah, Alphonse?"

"Are you going to come with us to Rush Valley?" The armor asked, "I mean, don't you want to see Winry?"

Sakura smiled brightly—the pain that used to reside inside of her… disappearing.

"Of course!" She nodded.

"So, it's settled!" Edward clenched his fist excitedly… "We're going back to Rush Valley!"

The kunoichi smiled wider at this. She was going to an entirely new place again and this time, Winry was going to be there. She didn't get a chance to get to know the blonde Rockbell and maybe this was an opportunity to do so. She missed Winry and she missed actually talking to her, even if it was for a little while.

_Winry, I can't wait to see you again!_

Sakura's _real_ journey was just beginning.

* * *

**A/N: Are you all happy now? I finished Chapter 18 of Renkinjutsu… and yet, I still am quite busy for this year because of school work. My Spanish Grade is horrible and I absolutely do not like it. I'm going to take Chinese next year, I swear. **

**But, I apologize for the long wait and I'm glad that I finished it… though the ending seemed a bit rushed. I'll fix it when I can, I guess but for now… I'M TIRED! –Faints- I'm glad everyone was patient…**

**So, uh, I'm supposed to be replying for reviews…**

**However, I'm lazy. Maybe I'll reply at another time! Just let out a sigh of relief because this story is still alive!**


	19. Chapter 19: Remembrance and Realizations

**A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to Chapter Nineteen of 'Renkinjutsu'! Hope you all enjoy and I finally had enough guts to reply to everyone's reviews from the previous chapters.**

**Please review but no flames! However, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, I do own the plot and characters that are not associated with the two shows.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Remembrance and Realizations

* * *

"_Are you going to come with us to Rush Valley?" The armor asked, "I mean, don't you want to see Winry?"_

_Sakura smiled brightly—the pain that used to reside inside of her… disappearing._

"_Of course!" She nodded._

"_So, it's settled!" Edward clenched his fist excitedly… "We're going back to Rush Valley!"

* * *

_

Sakura beamed at the thought while she started to fold her belongings and place them in a suitable shoulder bag. The pink-haired girl was excited that she was going to go with the famous Elric brothers to a town called Rush Valley. She knew Edward needed some maintenance on his metal arm and that Winry Rockbell, the mechanic, was going to fix it.

_Winry… _Sakura thought, a smile tugging upon her lips. Just the thought of Winry made her remember when she first met the blonde girl…

Honestly, at first Sakura thought that she was going to be another Ino Yamanaka. Apparently, Sakura was wrong. She wasn't anything like her rival from home. Winry is a sweet, compassionate, and a kind girl. Not to mention, she is very pretty as well.

_She's sweet. She's beautiful. She's nice… _Sakura sighed at the thought. _Everything that she is… I could never accomplish about myself. _

Unlike Winry, Sakura considered herself as being violent, a little rude, tough, and most of all, annoying. _I mean look at me! I treated Naruto like some kind of trash. I was overly obsessed with Sasuke. I even tried to flaunt myself about my looks and my memorization skills to no end. I didn't even think that Kakashi-sensei was even pleased about how I was…_

Sakura clenched her fists. She was… she was so frustrated about herself. However, Sakura stopped herself from going on about that. She didn't want to be in a bitter mood while traveling to Rush Valley with the Elric brothers. It would bring them down to wonder what was up with her.

_No… no. I shouldn't be thinking of that. _Sakura thought, smiling just a bit. _The Elric brothers are excited to go to Rush Valley. Look at it this way, Sakura; you'll get to see more of Amestris. Plus, Winry's going to be there!_

"Finally!" She stretched her arms, "A girl that's close to my age is going to be there. I don't have to be stuck with the boys anymore!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura turned around to where the angry voice came.

"E-Edward-kun!"

The Fullmetal Alchemist did a low 'huff' and crossed his arms.

"So that's why you want to come, huh?" He teased, approaching her, "You want to go to Rush Valley so you can free your little girly self away from me and Alphonse!"

Sakura grinned humorously, "Maybe…"

Edward chuckled as he knelt down beside her, "Do you need some help?"

"Not at all. I'm almost done, actually." Sakura replied, zippering up her bag.

He nodded and stood up again, looking around the room. Soon, his eyes fell upon his metal arm. Edward tried to make himself "fully" comfortable around the pink-haired female. Ever since the time when Sakura revealed her true identity, it was kind of hard for him to get used to it.

_I mean, come on! She's a girl from another world… You don't see that everyday! _Edward rolled his eyes about his own thoughts. _Whatever… what's done is done. If she says that about herself and where she comes from, then that's fine. _

Edward could tell: the girl had no false emotion in her jade-green eyes.

Unfortunately, something was still nagging Edward about Sakura. He fully understood about the ancient ninjutsu powers she had attained from her world but there was another thing. The thing that bothered Edward the most is the fact that Sakura kept fainting, having that odd pain her chest. He knew—it took him a while to notice.

The blonde bit his lip. Why did she have that pain in her chest? What was causing it?

His brother, Alphonse, and even his teacher, Izumi, had explained to him that these circumstances happen to her. Edward bit his lip harder—just the thought of it was making him have a headache. He wanted to ask Sakura but Alphonse told him that it's better for her to tell them when the time is right.

_Al… being so protective of others. _Edward secretly smiled at the thought about his brother.

Whirling his head to Sakura, he said, "Al and I will be waiting outside for you."

"Okay." Sakura responded, beaming kind-heartedly at him, "I'll be done soon."

"Don't take too long. I'm going to be impatient." With that, Edward walked out.

Sakura watched as he walked out of the room. She blinked and started to giggle.

_Edward-kun…_

As Sakura drifted her mind to thinking about Edward, she was oblivious of a voice that echoed in the back of her mind…

**"**_**You can not stop thinking about him… is this what you desire, Sakura Haruno?"

* * *

**_

"What?! Uzumaki Naruto is missing?!"

"Not only that but Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke as well."

_That brat… _Tsunade, the 5th Hokage of the Konohagakure no Sato, growled. This news was totally unacceptable! _I can't believe this… first it's my apprentice, Haruno Sakura, then Uzumaki Naruto, and now both Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke?! _

What shocked her most is that **Uchiha Sasuke **is also missing. Tsunade knew of the boy's records and reputation back at the academy and he, being missing, was something out of the loop. Sasuke is a strong boy; he can't let an enemy take him down. As for Hinata Hyuuga, Tsunade was bewildered by that as well. She thought that the Hyuuga clan kept their close eye on their clan heiress.

Naruto was another mystery in her head.

_He was determined to find Sakura… _Tsunade thought, scratching her chin delicately with her slender fingers.

Suddenly, a sudden thought struck her. _No… it couldn't be!_

"Iruka-san, have you seen Naruto recently?" Tsunade questioned the messenger that told her the news.

Umino Iruka, the trusted messenger of Tsunade and also the teacher back at the academy, shook his head. "The last time I saw him was back at the Haruno Residence."

Tsunade stood up immediately and scratched her light, long blonde hair. This was a lot frustrating than she had thought it was. Usually, Naruto would stick out like a sore thumb but in this kind of situation, Naruto was actually invisible. _Ugh, where did that brat gone off to? Don't tell me he told Hinata and Sasuke to tag along with him!_

Iruka, on the other hand, was worried about Naruto and the rest. He never expected this to happen. He looked down, letting his dark brown bangs cover half of his face. _Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke… where have you all gone to? Even Sakura-chan…_

Before Tsunade would discuss on the matter, the door slammed open.

Tsunade and Iruka nearly jumped in shock and turned around.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Two men burst through the door, carrying a silver-haired male with them.

"Kotetsu-san?! Izumo-san?!" exclaimed both Iruka and Tsunade.

Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane were the two proctors of the recent Chuunin Exam. They are also the guards in front of Konoha's main gate entrance. Both were highly skilled in the three types of the ninja way and were also organizers for the 5th Hokage. Usually the two would be in a daily humorous situation…

Unfortunately, not this time.

Right now, Kotetsu and Izumo are carrying—

"I-Is that…" Iruka stuttered, seeing the man in their arms, "… _Hatake Kakashi_?"

Kotetsu glanced at the man and nodded, "Yes."

"We found him like this at the gates." Izumo explained.

Tsunade's light-brown eyes broadened with shock. She never even expected Kakashi Hatake to be in this state! _What is going on?! Is there some kind of full moon or eclipse?!_

Then, the legendary Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, lifted his head up. He had the usual attire: his hitai-ate (ninja headband) tied in a tilted fashion, covering his left eye. His silver hair still in its spiked manner while wearing his local Jounin outfit and the mask upon his face. What's odd about him was that his eyes were in a tired-like expression and his face was nearly red.

The beautiful 5th Hokage raised an eyebrow, "Kakashi, what happened?"

Iruka looked over as well. He was getting absolutely concerned.

It took a few seconds for Kakashi to register the scene before him in his head. Soon, he shook his head as his eyes glanced at the Hokage, then Iruka, and finally, the two men that were carrying him.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Men."

"Oh, sorry, Hatake-san!" Izumo and Kotetsu apologized and placed the Jounin down.

"Thank you." Kakashi simply said. Izumo and Kotetsu bowed, stepped back, and left the room.

Kakashi made sure that the two left completely before he would face Iruka and Tsunade.

Tsunade then spoke, "Care to explain what happened?"

The Copy Ninja's eyes immediately turned dull as an empty space. Being a highly respected Jounin he was, Kakashi could not believe that three genin would slip out like that—even when it was a stupid and humiliating trick. _I can't believe it… but oh well, what's done is done._

"They slipped out of my trail, that's all." Kakashi said with a stern voice to Tsunade, "They were coming from the local Konoha library."

"And you know this… how?" Tsunade questioned once more.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "They were carrying books. On the spine part of one of the books was a stamping from the library."

"… And what kinds of books were they carrying?"

"I honestly don't know."

Tsunade placed both of her hands flat on the desk, "That settles it. Kakashi, appoint the best Jounins…"

"Actually, Tsunade-sama…" Iruka interrupted.

"What is it?"

"All of the Jounins are preparing to go to a training mission soon." Stated Iruka, "They won't be back after a few weeks…"

"Is this true, Kakashi?"

"Yes. I believe we leave tomorrow."

Scratching her chin, Tsunade thought about this deeply… _If the Jounins could not attend to this… then what team should I send out…?_

Almost immediately, something popped into Tsunade's mind. A small smile came across her face.

Kakashi and Iruka both raised their eyebrows, curious as to see what Tsunade has in her sleeve.

Intertwining her fingers together, Tsunade then said…

"Bring_ him_ in here."

* * *

The grass was tickling his ears.

Watching the clouds pass by with his dark, narrowed eyes—young Shikamaru Nara wondered: _Why the hell was I chosen as a Chuunin? _

"How troublesome…" The lazy genius muttered under his tired breath. He adjusted his lean arms behind his head, letting a few black strands of his hair touch it. Of course, he was wearing his trademark ponytail but ever since he lay down upon the grass—the grass just messed it up.

Shikamaru didn't care, though. He wanted to just lay there and let his eyes follow the clouds.

_Man… I seriously want to be part of the clouds. Floating there forever…_

He let his eyes shut as he drifted into what he called a _daydream_. He didn't know why but his mind started to play the events that had happened so far.

First, he heard about Haruno Sakura's disappearance and how the whole village was in panic. Of course they would be in panic because one, a ninja kidnapped meant that there was someone trying to invade the village. (plus, they already had enough problems to deal with such as Orochimaru, Sound Village, etc.) Another problem would make everything worse than it already is.

Second, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and even the great Uchiha Sasuke went missing. Shikamaru already knew that Naruto would seriously go after his missing teammate, dragging Sasuke in. For Hinata, Shikamaru assumed that since Hinata cares about her friends that much… she would be willing to help. This caused a lot of problems too.

Naruto was someone who carried the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox aka Kyuubi. Twelve years ago, after Naruto was born, a monstrous creature called the Nine-Tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure no Sato. Most of the ninjas were unable to stop it and many innocent people died. The only person that was able to destroy—more or less _seal_—the Fox was the Fourth Hokage.

He sealed it and in return, he sacrificed his life. The Fourth Hokage sealed it in baby Naruto's stomach. Because of that, all of Naruto's childhood life consisted of being teased, seclusion, and loneliness. It was also the start of Naruto's trouble maker actions.

Even if everyone in the village began to accept Naruto, he was still quite a threat. If Naruto was missing and ever ambushed by an enemy ninja, they might take advantage of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

As for Sasuke and Hinata—two of them carried a Kekkei-Genkai or a bloodline. Hinata's Kekkei-Genkai was the Byakugan, which was a valuable target for adversary ninjas. In Hinata's childhood, there was an attempt "kidnap" mission by one of Konoha's enemy ninjas. This warned the village that the clans that possessed a certain bloodline trait might be an easy target and will take advantage of it.

Sasuke had the Sharingan, which was a bit more useful than the Byakugan. On the other hand, Sasuke was someone that everyone should worry about.

Not only was he one of the most respected Rookies of Konoha but he had a past. It was a past that involved his whole clan, the Uchiha Clan, being annihilated by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. Because of this, Konoha keeps Sasuke heavily guarded—not because of his sense of power… but his certain vengeful attitude about chasing and killing his brother down.

Recently, Konoha wanted to keep an eye on the Uchiha because of a curse mark he carries at the back of his neck. It was a curse mark placed by the ultimate enemy: Orochimaru.

"What a drag…" Shikamaru yawned, not understanding why he went in deep thought of those matters.

Then, the Nara heard a crack of a branch nearby. Lazily, he sat up and turned around, quite displeased that his peace time was up.

"May I help you?" Shikamaru spoke to the person who entered.

"Shikamaru-san, the Hokage wishes to speak to you." Kotetsu told him, "Immediately."

"Ahh… this really is _troublesome_."

* * *

Gossip sure comes fast, especially in Konoha.

"Did you hear…?"

"Hear what…?"

"Haruno Sakura went missing."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, that _'forehead girl'_ back in the academy…"

Usually, Yamanaka Ino would ignore those stupid whispers about her rival-in-love, Haruno Sakura… however, when it was a situation like this, Ino can not ignore this.

Storming out from her beautiful flower shop, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl frowned.

"Hey!" She shouted at the girls who were gossiping.

They flinched and turned around, only to see the wrath of the Yamanaka before them.

With her flaming blue eyes, Ino raised her fist, clenching it tightly.

"I suggest you shut your trap and go talk somewhere else! I don't want to hear any of this gossiping about someone who's missing!" Ino screamed at them, making the gossipers tremble with such fear.

"SO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, NOT HERE, UNDERSTAND ME?!"

The girls ran off after Ino scolded them with her terrifying voice. Satisfied, the beautiful blonde crossed her arms and smirked. She was quite proud of herself for actually yelling that loud and scaring the living crap out of those girls. Proudly, Ino flipped her blonde hair off her shoulders as if to say: "I'm the winner!"

… Even though, deep inside, the real reasons for yelling at those girls were not because of them being annoying…

It was…

_Darn it, Sakura! Why…? _

Ino did not want to admit it but… she still cared about her old, childhood best friend, Sakura.

In their childhood, Ino and Sakura had a couple of ups and downs. Ino remembered very clearly about the day when she first met Sakura.

She was crying under a tree, those long, pink bangs covering her "large forehead". Honestly, Ino was just passing by and she wasn't expecting a little girl to be there, bawling her eyes out. When Ino saw her, she didn't know what came over her when she saw the pink girl weeping. Was it either care or pity? Ino could not determine the two words.

… But, being the good, cool girl she was, Ino approached Sakura and calmed her from the tears. She told the girl to keep her head up high and cheer up. She also told Sakura to be a bit more confident and that she wanted to give her a gift to make her feel better. The gift? A beautiful, bright red ribbon.

The symbolism of the bright red ribbon was Ino and Sakura's friendship.

Unfortunately, it was broken when both Sakura and Ino had a crush on Uchiha Sasuke. That was when their certain "rivalry" began.

At first it was for Sasuke's affections but it changed… it was all about becoming "equal".

_Just the thought of all this… _Ino thought, depressingly—as she was cleaning the counter of the flower shop. Ever since she had heard of Sakura's disappearance, Ino felt something deep in her heart that went missing.

Was she missing Sakura _that_ much?

Placing her face on her palms, Ino sighed, closing her eyes to shut off every thought of Sakura in her mind. She needed to pay attention to the shop, her training, her dumb teammates, and…

The bell of flower shop made a sound as Ino looked up. The sound of the bell indicated that someone came in the flower shop.

"Uh… welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop!" Ino greeted with a cheery smile.

"… Ahem, Ino?"

"How may I… wait, Shikamaru?!"

"Yeah…" The Nara boy stood there, hands casually in his pockets. He was wearing his typical ninja outfit—however; over his outfit was a Chuunin vest.

To this day, Ino could not believe that her lazy teammate became a Chuunin after he withdrew from the exams.

Crossing her arms and pouting, Ino replied, "What do you want?"

"Don't give me a hard time, Ino…" Shikamaru yawned, scratching his head, "This is important business."

"What kind of important business?"

Shikamaru looked at her with his drowsy dark eyes, "Follow me and find out. We've got to get Chouji and others as well."

* * *

After hours of waiting, _they_ had finally arrived to the Hokage's office.

Even if he was lethargic, Shikamaru managed to do what he was told and took the most trusted and skilled Genin to the office. With him being the Chuunin, he was already represented as the leader of the group.

His group included of Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Neji Hyuuga, and Ten Ten.

All of them were included because each of them were somewhat connected to the missing Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata.

Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame were Hinata's teammates as well as Neji Hyuuga being Hinata's cousin. Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi were there because the Hokage had appointed Shikamaru's team to aid him in this supposed rigorous mission. The only one that could not attend the group was Rock Lee because he was still seriously injured and Tsunade was still tending to him.

Each of them had a special talent of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Tsunade was quite pleased with that. She had never seen such talented Genin ever since she left Konoha.

"I'm sure you all know why you're here." Tsunade said, clearing her throat and making her voice more regal.

The fellow Genins and the Chuunin listened intently.

"…And I'm sure you all know that Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata are all missing, correct?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Then you will understand the task that I have planned for you." Tsunade said, placing her hands together on her desk.

"Since the Jounins are at their training mission to defend the village for any further attacks, I want your group to do this for me. The reason why I picked all of you is because of your remarkable skills and your remarkable grades from the academy when you graduated. Besides, you each have somewhat of a connection from these missing ninjas, right?"

They glanced at each other for a moment and nodded again.

"The task that I am about to give you is that… you investigate and track down these missing ninjas. They are very important to this village and I'm sure you all know why—Naruto being the vessel of a monster, Sasuke with his Sharingan, Hinata with her Byakugan, and Sakura with her knowledge. The things that these ninjas contain are very valuable and they are to be heavily protected. If they are missing, who knows what will happen? Plus, we've already got enough in our hands—Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and the Sound Village."

Kiba spoke up, "Yeah… but how are we supposed to track them down? Where were they last seen?"

"They were last seen at Konoha's Local Library." Tsunade replied immediately, "The librarian and Hatake Kakashi were the last ones that saw them. They seemed eager of something and ran off."

"I see," Neji said, "We'll have to investigate further, correct?"

"Yes. Find out what they wanted there. The ANBU can not look further because of the other important tasks I had assigned. It's your position that needs to take care of this."

"What happens if we find something?" Shino said darkly.

"Track it down with your bugs, bug-boy." Tsunade said teasingly, "Obviously, they are not at the village. They must be somewhere else."

"What about Sakura?" Ino asked, "You already told us where Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were last seen—but what about Sakura? They say she went missing from her home."

"That is another mystery that I can't seem to put my head into." The blonde Hokage responded, "Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke went to look for her… so if you find them, they might already have found her."

She sighed and tried to catch her breath after the long explanation, "Well, we've handled the basics and the information we've retrieved… now it's your job to carry the mission out. I want you all to find them as soon as possible. If you are having big trouble, return immediately to call for help. It is best that if you do because there are still a lot of missing puzzle pieces in this game. Please find it."

"We will."

"Good. Shikamaru, you're in charge."

"Ahh… how troublesome but whatever you say." Shikamaru groaned.

"Alright. Head out."

"Hai!"

And with that, the group dismissed themselves quickly.

* * *

"Well, teacher… we're off."

Edward grabbed his main luggage as Alphonse stepped carefully into the train. Following the two of them was Sakura, who adjusted her backpack behind her. She was now wearing a light checkered sundress and a blue over coat. Her hair, which had gotten a bit longer, was now in a loose ponytail that was tossed at the side of her neck.

She waved cheerfully at Izumi Curtis, Mason, and Sig, "Take care, Izumi-sensei, Mason-san, and Sig-san!"

Izumi crossed her arms but she smiled a bit.

Mason, who was somewhat crying with manly joy and sadness, waved rigorously, "Goodbye Edward! Goodbye Alphonse! Goodbye Sakura! Please take care!"

Sig just grunted and waved.

Sakura beamed sweetly at them and before she was able to get in the train, Izumi grabbed her wrist.

"Huh?" Sakura said, turning around to see the looming teacher. "Izumi-sensei…?"

"I want you to take this," She said, placing something a bit heavy in her hand. Sakura's green eyes looked down at it.

"Huh? What is it?" She questioned.

"It's a short blade." Izumi told her, "It may look life a knife but its blade can cut through anything. It is a pure weapon that is good for your hands."

Sakura's eyes slightly broadened with shock. For Izumi to give her such a thing…

"I… but I don't feel like I deserve it…"

"Take it." The Curtis female said, closing Sakura's palm so she can grasp the weapon, "It's useful and you're worth it."

"U-Uh…" The pink-haired girl was speechless for a moment until she said, "T-Thank you!"

Izumi smiled sincerely and crossed her arms again. She then gestured that she should be heading for the train.

The train made a noise, signifying the passengers that it was ready to go.

"Sakura!!" Edward shouted from the entrance way, "Come on! Get your butt over here right now or else we'll leave you!"

"C-Coming!" Sakura ran inside the train.

The train started to move heavily causing Sakura to trip… luckily; Edward caught her wrist and pulled her up.

The doors then closed as Sakura and Edward looked outside the window, bidding their farewells at the town of Dublith.

"Well… it'll probably be a longtime when I come back here." Edward said, not knowing himself of why he just said that.

Sakura glanced up at him and smiled, "Same. Izumi-sensei, Sig-san, and Mason-san are such kind people…"

Edward looked at her and noticed something was awkward: _He was still holding her wrist._

"Crap!" He said as he shoved her away, trying to hide the red color upon his cheeks.

"Eh? Ed-kun?" Sakura tilted her head with confusion, "What is it? Why did you shove me?"

"Shut the questions and let's go." Edward demanded, "Alphonse is probably waiting patiently with our seats. We don't want to keep him waiting!"

With that, he stormed nervously off, followed by a giggling Sakura.

"Oi, Edward-kun." Sakura rolled her eyes playfully.

_I wonder… how you all are… Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and everybody…_

Sighing, Sakura looked outside one of the windows of the train to see the passing scenery before her. She could only wonder—what **is** currently happening in her world right now?

* * *

**A/N: Another long update has been made! Thank you so much for your reviews at the last chapter! I know everything is going so slow and there's rarely any action ever since the Greed Situation. I deeply apologize for that because I wanted Konoha to be in focus for once and to see what's been happening. I also wanted to introduce our significant ninjas that are going to search for Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata. **

**Don't worry guys! Hopefully in the next chapter, the focal points are going to be Sakura, Edward, and Alphonse arriving to Rush Valley to see Winry and the other one is Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata looking for information about Sakura's problem. I will also be elaborating at a few things that had happened and also, introducing Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and the rest of the military subordinates. **

**Also, the legendary Homunculus. **

**Anyways, please review and if you have any questions, e-mail me or send me a PM! I will happily answer. Now, onward to the review replies!**

**Chapter Seventeen and Eighteen Reviews:**

**17:**

**Yuhi Sakura:** WOW! Thank you so much for reviewing in every chapter of my story and pointing out the many things that were either wrong or right with it~. Thank you so much! –Hugs- I've read your story and I'm still waiting for you to update (though I can understand it. I haven't been updating as much as I used to be… it feels like I'm giving up but I really am not!) Ah, yes, school… I hate it. Luckily, my grades are going up pretty good! So, nothing to really worry about! Yes, character development… it will definitely be noticeable in more future chapters.

By the way, thank you for suggesting such songs! I'll listen to it when I get the chance to fix the speaker on my computer. LOL.

**Saq78642:** Haha. Your English Class? Yes, you better worry about that! Fluffy! Yes, a lot of them too!

**Jul:** I've already updated and by the way, thanks for the cookies. –Already eating some- :)

**Icecream Skittles Addict:** Thank you so much for the review! Did I really portray them that good? Man, and I thought I sucked!

**oOo TripWire XD oOo:** Ahh, the singing part. Hehe. This is what you get when you read too much Shoujo manga. Oi. Yes, have some respect for the shrimp please! XD He wasn't rude, I know. He really shouldn't. He's fifteen for god's sake! LOL. Ahh! Your alert thing didn't work? NOOOO.

**pikachu tacos forever:** I LOVE THE THIRD SONG FOR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN! :) It reminds me of this too when I listen to it. Thank you for the review!

**sakuras-butterfly2:** Edward is cute when he's angry or confused. There was a reason why Sakura was being a bit blunt because was hesitant about telling him. It's true. She really was! LOL.

**Karin Ochibi-chan**: EdSaku has always been an awesome pairing for me! Their personality and everything are just so realistic. Sakura is the most realistic character I had ever seen and Edward is as well. I thought… if them being together, would it make a realistic couple? Hell yes! I think YOU SHOULD write an EdoSaku story! I would love to read and review it! Swear! Thanks for the review.

**sharingan user27:** Hmm… telling Edward that she's the Philosopher's Stone? I don't think Sakura knows that she is! LOL.

**Nikooru-sama:** Yes. WAH Sakura-chan!

**YourFavouitePlushie:** NO. No little kisses yet! Sakura no kissy Edward yet tills they really fall in love. XD. Sakura is okay! Seriously! XD.

**Kuma the wolf alchemist:** Edward is an awesome singer! I mean look at both Vic Mignogna and Paku Romi? XD

**18:**

**Saki xox:** Seriously? You've grown fond of the pairing? Yay! I made another fan like this pairing! –dances in circles- Anyways, I'm glad the trailer convinced you to read this! Thank you so much!

**Princess de la Luna**: Thanks for the review and everything but there's something I got to say… don't review and advertise something that's a story. Sure, its great that your helping the person but I appreciate it that you don't use my review as some advertising thing. I want to read the stories that I'm interested in by myself. Don't do it, please, it's a waste of time. Review when its about my story, not other people's story.

**NejiTenSasuSaku4eva:** I know, right? Geez, those two really don't know when to confess. XD.

**LaDyOfThEdArKeYeS:** LOL. Sorry to keep you waiting but please, don't kill me. Anything but that. XD.

**Prince cl0ud9:** Yeah, over working me up. I can't help it… I'm so busy nowadays! I want to update like I used to… and get to the good parts of the story. –sigh- Thanks for the review!

Man, I wish I can reply to all of you but right now, quite busy as usual! Expect an update later this week and if not, I'll let you know when!

Thanks to the other wonderful reviewers!:**  
SaruKaze, Mrs. Allieieie Uchihahaha, Miss Chocolat, Happy2Bme, 15mcheng, pure-white-angel, lunerlet, itachi-was-mine, BellaPerea, Thorn Allerdyce, rajvir, shadow-binder, SeilieChan, xXEdward-LuverXx, dizzezless, song-baka, i wish anime guys were real, 3luna21, MoonDust1012, LarkasBlessing122291, and Vanessa Rowes**


	20. Chapter 20: Boomtown of the Broken Down

**A/N: Here's another new chapter of "Renkinjutsu"~! I deeply apologize for not posting any chapters this summer like I had promised. My summer had been quite busy and eventful that I had to pause for a while. Not to mention I was suffering minor writer's block. Luckily, everything seems like its okay. Hopefully, like I said, I will post chapters a lot quicker like I used to. :)**

**Please review but no flames! However, constructive criticism is accepted and will be worshipped.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto. However, I do own the plot and characters that are not associated with the two shows.

* * *

Chapter 20: The Boomtown of the Broken Down  


* * *

"… _Next stop, Rush Valley…"_

"Well, we're almost there." Sakura said, excitedly as she smiled at both Edward and Alphonse.

The train was moving for about an hour now, due to other stops on the way. Sakura sat patiently, waiting for the train to arrive at Rush Valley. She couldn't wait to see Winry again!

_I never properly talked to her or even said goodbye… _Sakura frowned, remembering that Winry had to leave quickly. The pinkette sighed and looked out the window.

Beside her was Edward, who was reading a few notes in his small book. It was the only thing that was occupying him at the moment…_ and_ preventing him to look at the girl beside him. He didn't know why but the Fullmetal Alchemist would glance once in a while at Sakura. He didn't know what compelled him to do so but it was making him feel weird. He felt some kind of stalker.

Maybe it was the fact that it's her pink-hair that caught his eye. _I mean, seriously, what girl has pink hair?! _

If it was _pink hair_ then why wasn't Edward focusing on _that_? Instead, he would catch himself looking at her pale-apricot face, those jade-green eyes that sparkle, and those pink lips that would pucker…

Great, he was looking at her again!

_What the hell is wrong with me?!_

Edward started to have his own freak-out session without knowing that his own little brother, Alphonse, was observing him.

Alphonse, who sat in the seat in front of them, watched his older brother. He felt like laughing at the freak-out session that Edward was doing. Little did Edward know, Alphonse knew what Edward felt about Sakura. He had known it ever since Edward and Sakura started to get along. _Geez, Edward, your so oblivious to everything… can't you see the way Sakura treats you?_

_That's it._ Edward had to get something to distract himself _away_ from Sakura. Besides, it was only about thirty minutes more till they get to Rush Valley. Then, he'll free himself away from her while she'll hang out with Winry.

Deciding on this, Edward grabbed the book again and started to read and write notes.

"What's that, Edward-kun?"

Irritably, the _cursed book_ he was reading caught _Sakura's_ attention.

"This?" Edward said, holding the book _calmly_, "Just some notes that I took about alchemy over the years. It's nothing big, really."

"May I see?" She asked politely, showing fascination in those green eyes.

"… Sure."

Thus, Edward handed her the book, which Sakura gladly looked over, flipping the pages gently. She didn't want to ruin the book, even if Edward said it was 'nothing'. Her green-eyes scanned the pages, trying to comprehend with every scientific word that was written in there. It was as if the words were written in another language and that it told a story.

There were also diagrams, drawings, and labels of such. Sakura began to understand why it takes time for someone to learn alchemy. _These are such intricate… stuff. _

"Ed-kun," Sakura looked to the boy next to her.

Edward glanced at her, "Yeah?"

"May I borrow this book?"

"Why?"

"So I can have a better understanding of alchemy."

Edward raised an eyebrow, "_Better understanding_?"

"Of course!" exclaimed the kunoichi, "Alchemy seems very enthralling and plus, I could understand the workings of your world a whole lot better."

Edward stared. She did have a point. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… just make sure you don't lose it, okay?" The blonde warned her.

"I won't." Sakura vowed as she placed the book in the bag.

Alphonse, who was listening the whole time, laughed. He was amused at the scene before him of Sakura and Edward talking. It was as if he was watching a comedic movie in a theatre or something. Now that Alphonse thought about it…

"Sakura," The armored Elric spoke up.

"What is it, Al-kun?"

Alphonse then asked, "Are you alright now? I mean… well, you fainted and stuff…"

Sakura stared at Alphonse and exclaimed, "Yeah, Alphonse! Sure I am! I'm strong and I'm capable of getting through a little pain like that!"

Humorously, Sakura clenched her fists together and did a "CHA!"

Edward rolled his eyes, "Heh. You better be okay. I don't want to go through that same procedure again of having to scream out and carry you back. My arms hurt from carrying you…"

Sakura twitched, "Are you saying that I'm _heavy_?"

"Now, now… _when_ did I _say_ you were heavy? All I said was my _arms_ hurt when I carry _you_."

"Well, you were just _implying_ it."

"How was I _implying_ it? Like I said, I _didn't_ say you were _heavy_!"

Alphonse waved his hands, trying to pacify another upbringing argument, "Okay, okay… that's enough guys!"

He couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. They were just so… _alike_ in so many _different_ ways. The young Elric smiled inside his armored shell. The scene in front of him gave him so much hope to become a true human being again. He wanted to rightly laugh with the people he loved and wanted to be with them as much as possible.

Unfortunately, Alphonse had another situation in mind. He was _worried_ about Sakura. He half-heartedly understood what was happening in her body and how the pain was contracting inside of it. Alphonse cursed at himself. He didn't know why he can't say it to anyone… or even his older brother. He knew, in his gut, that some day, he had to _spill_ it out… no matter the consequences that will happen to _him_, his_ brother_, and _Sakura_.

_I'm such a coward. I can't even have the sense of strength to even… tell them of what I know._

Alphonse kept his head down the whole train ride. Edward and Sakura finally kept quiet the rest of the way. Edward was fiddling with his State Alchemist pocket watch and Sakura dazed out the window. The three of them waited patiently till their stop would arrive and they would be in Rush Valley.  


* * *

"Say, Winry… could you change the disk on the grinder for me?"

"Sure thing, boss!" Winry shouted to her boss happily as she grabbed the necessary box of tools.

Her boss, Mr. Garfiel, smiled at her, "What do you say we wrap things up here and take a break?"

"Yes, sir!" Winry nodded obediently, heading outside the Automail Mechanic shop.

Ever since she had her apprenticeship work in Rush Valley, Winry had been quite a busy girl. She had been following her boss' orders, jobs, and favors. She was also able to help out the many people who needed an automail surgery or daily fixing. The blonde-haired blue-eyed girl was filled with excitement that she was able to get an apprenticeship like this!

_It's all thanks to Edward and Alphonse… _Winry thought with a small smile. Without her and the brothers heading to Rush Valley, she would've never gotten an opportunity like this. Ever since she was a little girl, she had always dreamed of working in Rush Valley and helping the good people there with their prosthetics. She also dreamed that she could become a famous automail mechanic herself.

Unfortunately, even if Winry was having the greatest time of her life being an automail apprentice, she can't help but worry about the Elric Brothers' welfare and their safety. She knows their journey for the Philosopher's Stone was a dangerous task and of course, being their loyal childhood friend, Winry had the right to be in concern of them. She absolutely had no idea on where they are right now.

_Not only that… I'm a bit worried about Sakura too. _Winry felt bad for not having to say a proper goodbye to the pink-haired girl that she had met in the Hughes' Residence. She felt regretful and wished she could've stayed to talk to Sakura more. For some reason, she was curious about the pinkette… mainly because she looked different. Winry had never seen a girl that looked Amestrian yet she carried a Xingese Accent.

_Plus, Sakura looked a bit lost… _Winry couldn't help but think suspiciously of Sakura. Of course, she wanted to be close friends with her but something in Sakura made Winry doubtful of her. Maybe Winry was just being a bit paranoid.

_Ah, get a hold of yourself, Winry! Its not like Sakura is bad… she's sweet. _Smiling to herself, Winry proceeded to continue her daily task for her boss.

"Hello there, Winry!" A familiar voice greeted the blonde.

Winry spun around to see who the familiar voice was. It was her two childhood friends, Edward and Alphonse!

"You look awfully chipper today!" Edward said with a rather big smile across his face.

"Yeah, and you look as bright as ever!" Alphonse added with a slightly cheerful voice.

"Ed, Al, and…" Winry's welcoming smile turned into a shocking gasp when she saw the girl behind Edward and Alphonse. _"Sakura…?" _

"Winry, long time no see…" The pink-haired girl exclaimed with a nervous soft smile on her lips.

Winry was so overjoyed and happy to see her that she ran over and hugged her. Sakura's green-eyes broadened for a moment when she felt the hug. Nevertheless, Sakura returned her hug and giggled.

"Oh my god… I thought you'd be mad at me." Winry said, letting go of the hug and looked at her with anxious eyes.

Sakura tilted her head, "What do you mean mad at you…? I'm not mad! If I was mad, I wouldn't be here to see you!"

Winry's grin continued to spread across her lips, "Ah, I feel so sorry for leaving so quickly. I didn't mean to supposedly ditch you like that. I had to go."

"It was understandable." Sakura nodded, "You had to go."

The pinkette and the blonde laughed together and hugged each other again. Sakura felt so content to see Winry again. She honestly thought that Winry felt awkward around her because Sakura was so different. Sakura also felt guilty about the first time she had judged Winry. She almost assumed that Winry was going to be another mean and vicious Ino in the world. This convinced the kunoichi to not _"judge a book by its cover"._

Edward and Alphonse stared at them. Alphonse felt very pleased to see the two of them like that whereas Edward… Edward was hoping now that Winry was in a good mood, he would be able to show her his busted automail.

"Hey! Winry!" Edward called out to his childhood friend.

Winry finished hugging Sakura and turned to Edward, "Yeah, and Ed? I forgot to ask, what brings you guys here this time? You always show up without a warning…"

All Edward could do was rose up his shattered right arm and put on a _'please-don't-kill-me-I-beg-of-you'_ grin across his face.

Then, the next thing Edward knew… a _wrench_ was ready to fly on his _face_.  


* * *

"Mr. Garfiel!" A merry voice from up the roof yelled, "I'm done fixing the roof!"

Mr. Garfiel looked up from his work bench and stared at the slightly tan-skinned girl, "Oh thanks, Paninya. I was worried that the roof was going to collapse at any moment because of those horrible bolts and screws!"

"Well, I replaced them with new ones!" Paninya, the once thief of Rush Valley and now a roof-fixer, smiled happily, "So, you don't have to worry as much anymore!"

Paninya is a local girl from Rush Valley. The first time Edward, Alphonse, and Winry came to Rush Valley, they ran across her. At that time, Paninya was a pick-pocket thief that sells her stolen goods to a nearby shop to earn money. When Edward was there, Paninya made her first impression by stealing Edward's State Alchemist Pocket Watch. This ensued into Edward causing chaos by chasing Paninya to get his watch back.

It turns out that the reason why Paninya was stealing goods from people was because she wanted to get enough money to pay an automail engineer. Like Edward, Paninya is also has automail limbs, except her automail equipped in her two legs. What's different about Paninya's automail is that it is made out of light steel and that she could easily run and jump without having to feel heavy. That kind of automail structure not only peaked Edward's frustration but it also peaked Winry's interest to want to know how that automail is made.

After a few predicaments here and there, Edward, Alphonse, and Winry were able to meet the automail engineer for Paninya. His name was Dominic. Not only did they find out that he was talented, but he was very strict and disciplined in the way of the automail engineer. Winry wanted to become his apprentice, however, he rejected her.

Edward and his friends were also able to find out how Paninya earned her automail. The dark-haired, tan girl got into a train accident when she was a child, resulting in both of her legs. She was then "rescued" by Dominic and was able to make her new metal legs. Ever since then, she couldn't help but owe him back for everything and she assumed the best way to earn money was to _steal_.

Luckily, since Edward, Alphonse, and Winry's arrivals, Paninya turned to a new leaf and decided to quit being a thief and turned into a fixer.

"I heard quite a ruckus down here. You got company?" Paninya questioned cheerfully.

Mr. Garfiel shook his head, "Uh-huh. Some of Winry's friends."

Paninya's eyes brightened, "Friends? Oh! It must be Alphonse and…"

By the time Paninya entered the scene, all she saw was a very injured Edward in blood, a crying Alphonse, and a very pissed Winry.

"Uh… _Edward?_" Paninya blinked.

"This pile of _goo_ that used to be him!" Winry gritted her teeth angrily. It always seemed to be the case… Edward only came to see her because his automail was busted.

"Oh god…" Paninya sighed heavily, "Got himself into trouble again?"

"As usual it seems!" Winry replied with a hint of irritation as she placed the wrench back in her pocket.

Paninya could only laugh at the scene and then took a look around. She noticed something different… well, _someone_ different. There was Edward (still in pool of blood), Alphonse, Winry, and…

"Hi there!" The dark haired girl greeted to the pink-haired newcomer, "Haven't seen you here before! You a friend of Ed, Al, and Winry?"

Sakura's green eyes shyly looked up at the tan girl and smiled a bit, "Oh, yes. My name is Haruno Sakura."

Paninya giggled. She also found it rather strange that the girl looked a lot different from most people she had met (mainly because of her pink hair); however, she didn't feel apprehensive around her. Paninya found the girl rather approachable and already sweet. _If she's a friend of Ed, Al, and Winry, then I'm alright with it! _

"I'm Paninya! Nice to meet'cha, Sakura." Paninya happily said to her, offering up a hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you as well, Paninya." Sakura gladly shook her hand.

"So, are you from around here?" Paninya asked.

"Ahh, well… not really."

"Then where are you from?"

"Uhh…" Sakura stuttered. Like before, Sakura didn't like to lie, especially to a person she just met. "I'm from…"

"She's from Central." Alphonse spoke out loud, aware of how Sakura was having a bit of trouble. Sakura sighed in relief. _Thank you, Alphonse._

"From Central? Wow!" Paninya laughed, "Is this your first time in Rush Valley?"

"Pretty much." Sakura replied. _Wow. She loves asking a lot of questions, doesn't she? _

"Do you like it so far?"

"Uh, well I'll have to go look out and see…"

Alphonse, whom was watching the two of them the whole time, could tell Sakura wasn't getting used to having so much questions asked. He was worried that she might spill out who she really is in just a second. In order to save her from getting on that path, Alphonse decided to cut in.

"Hey Paninya!" Alphonse called out to her.

"Yeah, Al?"

"I haven't seen you in a while… and um, I've got to ask you a lot of things!" Alphonse said, trying to make his voice a little interested.

Sakura turned to Alphonse again and mouthed a quiet 'thank you' to him. Alphonse waved his hand in response as Paninya began talking to him. _Phew! I got to thank Alphonse later for saving my butt… Paninya is so nice but her questions make me feel like I'm being interrogated…_

"_Hm…_ so it seems like you quit being a thief?" Alphonse asked her, while sitting down on one of the chairs in the workshop. Sakura sat close to them, interested in hearing the conversation.

Paninya nodded, "Yup!"

"Wait, you used to be a thief?" Sakura questioned.

"Guilty as charged." Paninya smiled sincerely at her, "But these days, I've got an honest trade with my skills and my legs. I'm pretty good at doing construction on rooftops and stuff!"

She then scratched her head nervously, "Though… it's not easy gaining everyone's trust after what I did before as a thief."

"Still, you do earn enough right?" asked Sakura, listening very intently to her.

"Heck yeah! I earn enough not to starve to death." Paninya chuckled, "Not to mention my automail mechanic, Dominic, is slowly beginning to accept the money I owe him for my automail, too."

Sakura blinked, "You have automail limbs?"

"Sure do!" Paninya then reached to the ends of her pant sleeves and lifted it up carefully, showing her the furnished metal prosthetics. "Aren't they cool? They're durable for anything!"

As she glanced at the automail with her emerald-green eyes, Sakura couldn't help but slowly fade her smile to a frown. _It seems like everybody has some kind of burden in this world… _First, it was Izumi Curtis and her unborn child, then it was Martel and Dorchet being involved in some kind of human experimentation, and finally, it was Edward and Alphonse's mistakes. Sakura could only wonder why this world had so many committed sins and faults.

Of course, where she had come from, everyone had a certain problem in the past that they can't seem to erase. Sakura's teammate, Naruto, was shunned by many people because he had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him. Then, it was Sasuke, whose clan had been annihilated by a family member. She had met various people with such problems but they each had their own opening to change it—instead of carrying a painful burden.

Naruto was able to prove himself useful and the villagers trust him. Sasuke learned many life lessons and is seemingly going on the right path without a hint of revenge in his mind. Other people seemed to have this kind of opportunity given to them. Sakura appreciated it and was glad for that. _But here… it seems vastly different…_

Here, in this world of the alchemists, everyone's predicaments were brutal and gruesome. Izumi's certain mistake lost her insides and her will to be as strong as she was. Martel and Dorchet were both experimented to become monsters without their consent—only to be killed horrifically in the end. Finally, it was Edward and Alphonse's act of the forbidden human transmutation, causing Edward his limbs and Alphonse's body.

They had little chances of changing back and starting a new leaf. They would either carry a remembrance of what had happened or they would die dreadfully in the end. Sakura trembled at the many thoughts she was having. She never understood a world where there seems to be no second chances. The rest of the time in Paninya and Alphonse's conversation, the pinkette sat silently, listening and trying to reorganize her thoughts.

"So, how are you guys doing?" Paninya asked Alphonse, "Any leads to what you're looking for?"

"Well…" Alphonse looked up, "We made a_ little_ progress… I think."

* * *

"You _never_ make any _progress_ do you?!" Winry screamed at Edward while trying to figure out a way to fix his broken automail… _again_.

Edward groaned. Sometimes, he hated having to listen to Winry's rants about her precious automail. _Ugh. Its days where I wished that Winry was just a normal girl… however, god's being cruel on me. She's not normal. She's a mechanic otaku!_

"No matter how _old_ you get, you _never _listen to my _advice_!" Winry scolded, placing on special bandages to hold in the hanging metals on his arm, "What are you, a _kid_?!"

"What about you? How's _your_ training going?" Edward asked, totally ignoring what she kept saying to him.

"Great! I've come up with a way to make an automail machine gun!"

"… Are you turning into a _mad scientist_?"

Winry laughed, her mood lightening up again, "Any luck at your teacher's place in Dublith?"

Edward shrugged, "Uh, _kind of_… we're taking a long way around but we're still moving forward… I guess."

"Yeah? That's good to hear." Winry let out a sigh, "But, if you told me that you busted your arm without making a progress on anything, I'd have to smack you a few times."

Edward twitched crossly to hear that, "You wouldn't dare…"

"Anyways…" Winry spoke, her voice becoming a bit calmer, "How'd you meet Sakura? I know I met her way before you guys… how'd you bump into her?"

Edward flinched inconspicuously as he looked at Winry. At first, he felt a bit hesitant talking about Sakura—mainly because of what she _really_ is. He's aware that Winry doesn't know a true lick about her…

"She was in Dublith, working for Teacher." Edward curtly replied.

"_Hm_…" Winry tapped her chin, "That's odd… the last time I saw her, she was at the Hughes Residence when I was at Elycia's birthday party."

"I know. She told me. The Hughes family sent her there because Sakura wanted to find a good job. I guess she found her job with Teacher."

Winry's blue eyes were full of curiosity. _That's really weird… I wonder how Izumi would let Sakura in for a job. I mean, from what I hear from Edward—Izumi doesn't accept many employees as she does with apprenticeship. Huh…_

"Oh, I see." Winry nodded, "She must be pretty good and strong to deal with your teacher, Izumi!"

Edward shrugged, "I guess and the reason why we dragged her butt here to Rush Valley because she wanted to see you."

Winry chuckled, "Alright then… so where are you headed afterwards from here?"

"Well, I'm thinking about going to Central to do some research…"

"Huh!? You're going to _Central_!? I wanna go!"

Edward raised an eyebrow, "Whatever the hell for?"

"I want to visit Mr. Hughes and his family," Winry giggled, "I also want to thank them for letting me stay at their house with them!"

"Hey, what're you guys talking about?" Paninya questioned, coming into Winry's mechanic room along with Sakura and Alphonse.

"Is Edward's arm fixed yet?" Sakura asked, looking up at Winry.

"Edward was talking about heading to Central and about me tagging along," Winry replied, "Oh, Sakura, to answer your question… No, Ed's arm isn't fixed yet. Frankly, I'm still mad about him for breaking it _stupidly_."

"Hey!" Edward twitched.

"That's right!" Alphonse exclaimed, "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes! He's at Central, brother!"

"That's right. I know." Edward nodded, "He helped us out when I was in the hospital and I never did thank him properly…"

"You guys are going to see Mr. Hughes?" Sakura chimed in, wanting to know the topic.

"Yeah." Winry nodded.

"I want to come too!" Sakura shouted cheerily. _I really do want to see them. It's been a while and I already miss Elycia…_

"Well, this settles it," Edward announced, "We'll all go—to _Central_!"

"But Ed, what about the busted up automail?" Paninya reminded, snickering.

"… Ah crap."  


* * *

"The _Gate_…?"

That word… it seemed very familiar to the young Uchiha Sasuke. If he could trace it back in his mind on where he had heard of it before, the first thing that hit him was what his father was talking years ago. _What was it that father was talking about… something about the Gate… ugh… _

Sasuke's mind was whirling into many circles now. He had so many things in his brain that he couldn't really comprehend with it. He wished he could just stop at one topic at a time but it seemed like it wasn't working at the moment. Closing his eyes gently, he tried to grasp the certain memory of when he had over heard his father say that word.

Of course, since Sasuke was young when he had heard his father mention that word—at first, he thought he was referring to something of a door or an opening. Eventually, he found out something. Sasuke had found out that the gate wasn't some kind of metal bars that guarded a house, like a fence. It was something more than that—or so what it says in alchemic terms.

"Kimiko." Sasuke called the dark-haired girl sitting next to him.

"Yeah?" Kimiko said, looking up at him with those sapphire-blue eyes. _Wow! He actually said my name this time… wait… I didn't even think he knew my name._

"The Gate… can you tell me about it?"

Kimiko scratched her chin to think about it for a moment, "I guess… I don't know much about it but its main definition… It's a pretty hard topic to learn about it, especially in my case."

"Well, can you just tell me what you know about it?" Sasuke asked, getting impatient.

"Okay, okay… geez; hold your horses, Uchiha." Kimiko rubbed her temples, "I'll tell you as much as I can."

So, she did, elaborating on the basic knowledge of the Gate. Sasuke sat there, listening intently as usual.

"The Gate—in alchemic terms—is another way to speak about '_The_ _Truth_' itself. Legend has it that it appears to the alchemists that committed treason for the sins or committed the unforgettable taboo. Those taboos, of course, include _Human Transmutations_ and _Human Experimentations_ that have something to do with alchemy. When an alchemist commits any of those crimes, they are sent at the presence of the gate… where they will meet someone called the 'Truth'."

Sasuke, a bit lost, spoke, "What is this '_Truth_' you're mentioning?"

"The Truth is the vision that sinful alchemists meet when they are taken to the Gate. My master, Dante, says that she has seen the Truth at least once because of a forbidden act she has done. She told me that the Truth is personified as the 'world', the 'universe', or of 'one' thing. Like the quote: '_All is One, One is all_'."

Sasuke bit his lip. He had heard of that quote before. The Uchiha remembered it during one of his trainings with his team. His sense, Kakashi, told him that they must work together as a team and that they must cooperate in any situation as possible. He told them that working as one—as one squad—will bring all that is bad to good. That meant, they must not work alone or everything will come crashing hard upon them.

_So it doesn't JUST connect to alchemy… _Sasuke thought, nodding at Kimiko's explanation.

"Now the Gate is also the door to open all of the secrets of the world and the universe itself. Behind the doors of the gate is where all of the desired knowledge is said to be hidden. A great alchemist with great understanding of this… may have the _courage_ to open the door and see _everything_."

"_Everything_…? Like, all of _knowledge_?"

"Yes." Kimiko nodded, "… Though that's one of the theories that are beyond the Gate. There is another theory that also fits into to the concept."

"… And what is that?"

"_Another world_… hidden within _corruption_."

"What?"

Kimiko cleared her throat to continue her explanation, "My master says that there is another world beyond the Gate… a world different from this but has the same inhabitants and the same laws."

_Another world, huh…? I wonder if this has a good connection that could lead us to Sakura… _Sasuke thought, his onyx-eyes carefully watching Kimiko.

"So, its like a _parallel world_ or something…?"

"Yes… but…"

"_Kimiko_."

A rather harsh voice interrupted Kimiko and Sasuke's engrossed conversation. When the two of them looked up, it was none other than Dante, whom was standing in front of them with a grave face. Sasuke glared at her discreetly with his dark eyes whereas Kimiko immediately stood up and bowed apologetically. Dante nodded at her.

"Kimiko, please do not bother their research with such things." Dante ordered.

"Forgive me, sensei." The dark-haired girl bowed.

"I have a favor to ask you—please come with me." The older woman told her, "And as for you, Sasuke… please continue your work and when you're done, you're free to leave along with your friends."

Nonetheless, Sasuke nodded. Naruto and Hinata, whom looked up from their reading, glanced at Dante suspiciously.

Turning around to leave the library room, Dante walked off, followed by her apprentice. The two of them went out of the door and quietly closed it behind them. As soon as that had happened, Naruto and Hinata ran towards where Sasuke was and sat close to him, concerned and slightly apprehensive of what had happened moments ago. Hinata had a worried face and Naruto had an exasperated one.

"What the _hell_ just happened?" Naruto questioned, gritting his teeth.

"No idea." Sasuke replied bluntly.

"What do you mean _'no idea'_?! That Dante-lady's voice sounded pretty pissed off! Did you do something…"

"Kimiko and I were just having a discussion of what I was curious about. That was all."

"Then what were you _curious_ about that made that lady freakin' _ticked_ off, teme?"

"This."

Without looking up at him, Sasuke threw a notepad in Naruto's hands. Naruto and Hinata looked over the contents of what was on that notepad and scanned it quickly.

"What's this _crap_ all about, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, "What's this _Gate_… _Truth_… and the _world_? Huh?!"

Sasuke stared angrily at him, "This_ crap _that I have written maybe the _key_ to how Sakura went in that book."  


* * *

"So they _sent more_ it seems…"

"What do you mean, sensei?" Kimiko's sapphire eyes looked up her teacher, wondering of what she was talking about.

Dante was looking out the bay window from her living room, drinking tea gently. Her dark eyes watched the trees in the yard as they were being gently blown by the wind. She could just feel it—the peaceful flowing energy beneath her was broken. Dante knew the other ninjas that were sent would be coming anytime soon to cross-examine her about the mysterious events that were happening… including the pink-haired girl's disappearance.

_And its all according to what I have planned. Sooner or later it will have to come to this… _Dante's eyes had darkened.

"Kimiko, I do not want you discussing of that topic to those three." Dante told her student.

Eyes widening slowly, Kimiko could sense the terrifying aura that was coming from her teacher. From all the days she has been spending as an apprentice, she felt something both horrifying and inevitable. _I've never felt this from my sensei… what is this feeling? And what does she mean by someone sending out more…?_

"H-Hai sensei. I'm sorry. I will not speak of it ever again to them." Kimiko trembled, feeling something bad in her gut.

Dante then looked at her straight in the eyes, "_Good_… now could you do something for me?"  


* * *

"I think its this way!" Neji Hyuuga called to his teammates that were running behind him in the woods. His bloodline trait, which was the Byakugan, was activated to track down chakra signals and whatever danger that was ahead of their trail.

"Hey! Akamaru can sense it too!" Kiba Inuzuka called out, his white dog sniffing away. "Shino, how about your bugs?"

The ever silent Shino Aburame nodded, "Yes… they can feel it as well…"

"So we are going the right way this time?" Ino Yamanaka questioned.

Shikamaru Nara yawned, leading the team, "Afraid so… let's hope nothing troublesome gets in the way… we've got to find them soon."

"Right!" The Konoha Shinobis shouted in unison as they headed to find their fellow ninjas and bring them back home. The hoped… _they prayed_… that they would find them with no _absolute_ problem.  


* * *

"Welcome back, Mr. President… how was your inspection of the South Area?"

"Hm… very _productive_…"

In the midst of the dark area surrounding him, King Bradley stepped into the only light that was available in the room. The President of Amestris, also known as the Homunculus Wrath, stood there with a dignified posture as the unseen voice asked him questions.

"I have reassessed the Fullmetal Alchemist's brother and I believe that he, and their teacher, might make worthy _human sacrifices_…" Bradley replied with a staid voice.

"I see… and…?"

"I have found _her_."

There was silence for a few seconds before the voice could continue. The voice then said, "So… she has come…? The _key_…?"

"It seems as if your word had been kept…" Bradley commented, "Who knew the one that had_ left_ you could actually bring her…?"

The voice groaned in the shadows. Bradley kept himself silent till he adjusted himself to speak.

"By the way… I made a _rare catch_ in Dublith…" The President added.

Bradley then gestured his head up to show the Homunculus Greed hanging above a slab that is connected with chains.

Greed had his head down, still unconscious with blood stains all over his face. He even had Bradley's sword blades impaled through his muscular chest.

"Now there's a blast from the past." A woman's voice emanated from the shadows, "I haven't seen that face since he fled here a century ago."

Stepping out from the never ending darkness, a beautiful woman with long, wavy hair and dark-eyes glanced up at the sleeping Greed. She was wearing a black dress that compliments her curvaceous figure along with stretched black gloves and black boots. The most unusual thing about her was the eccentric tattoo placed above her chest and below her collar bones. The tattoo was of the Ouroborus.

Along with the beautiful woman were two other people. One of them was a rather oversized fat man and the other was a man with long-green hair spread around his face and was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with black ragged-shorts.

Crossing her arms, the woman's red lips stretched into a smile, "Wake up, Greed."

Greed's eyes shot open and looked down. As soon as he saw the scene before him, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, well." Greed said, "The gang's all here."

"How pathetic, _Mr. Ultimate Shield_." The woman taunted him coolly.

"You're as beautiful as ever, _Ms. Ultimate Spear_…" Greed grinned sarcastically, "… How have yah been, _Lust_?"

"_Gluttony_." Greed glanced at the fat man, "Still packin' the pounds I see."

"And _Envy_," He said to the green-haired male, "… You still have the same bad taste in fashion."

The long-green haired Envy only scoffed at what Greed commented while the fat Gluttony sat there.

Greed sighed, "It's nice to see that some things never change, even after a _hundred years_… except for _one thing_."

Glancing down at King Bradley, Greed then asked, "What's _he_ doing here?"

Bradley spoke up, "… I am _Wrath_."

"Huh? What do you mean you're Wrath?"

Lust soon explained, "After you betrayed us and left this place… Father gave us a new sibling sixty years ago."

"But that's _King Bradley_, right? Everyone knows him! He made his name on the battlefield and became the Fuhrer President in his forties!"

"That's right. As far as humans are concerned, he's one of them… the _Great King Bradley_. But in actuality, he's our sibling, created for the last stage of the plan."

"A Homunculus that _ages_?!" Greed shouted, astounded, "How is that _possible_?"

Envy then laughed, interrupting Greed and Lust's conversation, "What are you talking about?! '_Nothing is impossible._' You were the _one_ who used to say that—did you _forget_ or are you getting _senile_ in your old age?"

"Shut the hell up, ugly." Greed insulted ruthlessly.

Envy twitched as his dark eyes averted to Greed, giving him a threatening stare.

**"****What did you say?"**

Greed smirked, "Oh yeah! I like _that_ face! Why don't you show your true self? **Envy the Freak**."

"You _scum_…" Envy darkly mocked, "Say that again and I'll _destroy_ you!"

"Stop it… all of you."

Before Envy was about to attack Greed, an older voice echoed within the shadows of the room.

When everyone turned around to see where the source of the voice… it led them to a figure sitting upon a large chair with numerous wires attached behind it.

The figure upon the chair spoke…

"Enough of your _sibling quarrels_… your** Father** doesn't want to see such _ugly behavior_."  


* * *

**A/N: I won't be replying to any reviews in this chapter because I don't think I have the patience right now. Maybe in the next chapter or so, I'm sorry! I wish to reply to them but not at the moment. If you DO have questions, please PM or e-mail me. I check them a lot. :) Thanks and make sure you review!**


	21. Chapter 21: The Man of Xing

**A/N: Important author note at the end of the chapter.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto; however, I do own the plot and the characters that are not associated with the series.

* * *

Chapter 21: The Man of Xing

* * *

"Well this settles it," Edward announced with a grin, "We'll all go to Central!"

"But Ed, what about you're busted up automail?" Paninya reminded, snickering.

Edward's grin dropped as soon as Paninya mentioned that. His golden eyes glanced at his bandaged, destroyed automail and sighed.

"Ahh, crap…" He cursed, "Winry! If you really want to go to Central then you better hurry and fix my automail!"

Before Edward or anyone else could comprehend what would happen next, Winry's wrench flew into Edward's face, thus knocking him off the chair. Edward's face then fell onto the floor, the wrench still comically stuck on the back of his head.

Winry twitched angrily, her face fully red with frustration. Behind her was the panicked Alphonse, trying to calm her down while Paninya laughed even more. Sakura, on the other hand, was shaking Edward to wake up.

"One more time you make me angry, I'll really bash up that prideful cranium of yours!" The tough blonde mechanic threatened.

"Now, now Winry… you should calm down." Alphonse assured her.

"Edward-kun, are you still breathing?" Sakura questioned, still shaking the golden-haired alchemist to wake up from his "wrench-unconsciousness".

"Winry!"

Everyone turned to where the voice had come from. Mr. Garfiel, Winry's boss, entered the room with some boxes.

"Yes, boss?" Winry responded, her anger miraculously disappearing.

Mr. Garfiel blinked at the scene before him, "Oh my… Mr. Edward bothering you again?"

"More like causing my temper to explode," Winry sighed, glaring at the alchemist lying in the pool of blood.

"I see… well, I understand you'll be taking a day off and heading to Central soon but there are some last minute deliveries you have to make." Mr. Garfiel told her, handing the paper work and boxes of parts to Winry.

"Oh right! I nearly forgot." Winry said, examining the boxes, "I have to check these if it's okay for delivery…"

"Is everything okay, Winry-chan?" Sakura asked, curiously peering in the box that Winry was carrying.

"Yes, everything's alright Sakura." Winry replied, "I just gotta go and delivery parts at the other side of town. If you want, while I'm gone, you can tour around Rush Valley and kill time."

"What do you mean kill some time?" Edward questioned, rising up from the dead after being hit by the wrench. "What are we supposed to do while you're doing some errands?"

"I did suggest to Sakura that she can look around Rush Valley." Winry told them, "You can accompany her if you'd like."

Edward groaned, "But Rush Valley is so boring…"

"Oh really?" The blonde mechanic narrowed her eyes, "Then would you rather stay here and let Mr. Garfiel take care of you?"

Edward and Alphonse turned to Mr. Garfiel, who was looking at them with a sly flirtatious look.

"That's alright… we'll go with Sakura!" Both said in unison, obviously afraid.

* * *

"We said that but… It's absolutely boring here!" Edward complained, walking alongside with Sakura and Alphonse in the streets of Rush Valley.

"Really? I don't see anything bad about it, Ed-kun." Sakura smiled cheerily, looking around her surroundings with wonder.

Rush Valley was very interesting in Sakura's eyes. She had never seen so many prosthetic limbs, advance mechanical technology, and shops that provided many metals of different kind. Usually, when she was back in Konoha, most of the stores she would see would mainly sell a lot of weapons, ninja equipment, and medicinal kits. Here, in Rush Valley, it would be metal limbs, weapons called guns, and various types of metal alloys for creating automail.

Sakura quickly trotted to one shop, which showed a bouquet of flowers that were completely made out of metal. Sakura's green eyes gleamed with curiosity and sheer wonder.

"Wow… this is so cool!" She squealed out loud. The store owner only smiled.

"Do you like that, miss?" He asked, "It's one of our finest arts and crafts carefully created by soft metal! It's one of a kind!"

Sakura turned to him, "Really? Waa, it must have taken a lot time…"

"Yeah, it did but it was worth it!" The store owner laughed and scratched the back of his neck, "Whenever people would pass by, they would stare at it for five to ten minutes! I guess people like intricate and otherworldly made things, no?"

Smiling, Sakura turned back to the metal-made flowers. For some reason, it was reminding her of someone…

'_Ino…' _Sakura thought, biting her lip.

Of all the things she could possibly think about… it had to be her rival-in-love, Yamanaka Ino. Sakura had once cursed herself to thinking that there would be another Ino when she saw Winry for the first time. She didn't understand why a metal flower of all sorts could lead her back to thinking of that… girl.

It wasn't like she despised Ino whole-heartedly. It was just the fact the two had a history of being rivals, especially for a certain male's attention.

Sakura could remember as if it was just yesterday that when she and Ino graduated from the academy. It wasn't about fighting over Sasuke anymore but it was the fact that Sakura wanted to be equals with Ino. Of course, that resulted when Sakura gave her red ribbon to Ino as a symbol of resolve.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Alphonse asked, walking over next to her.

The gentle armored boy looked down at the pinkette and saw what she was looking at.

"Do you like the metal-made bouquet?" He asked her gently. Sakura blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Y-Yeah," Sakura grinned, looking up at Alphonse, "Yeah… I like it a lot. It reminds me of something from home."

'_In fact, this town's liveliness reminds me of my village… So happy, so cheerful, and very nostalgic.'_

Sakura took a deep sigh in and out as she shook her head. She a lot more homesick than she had thought. She then signaled Alphonse that she was ready to check out more of the town and Alphonse happily agreed with her. The two of them said their good byes to the store owner and went back to catch up with Edward.

When they saw Edward, he was surrounded by a lot of automail engineers that were interested in fixing his automail.

"Hey.. er, Mister…"

"Hey sir, do you need some work done on your automail…?"

"We will give you a good deal!"

The crazy automail engineers chanted around Edward as Edward, frustrated, tried to get away from them.

"Get the hell away from me!" Edward shouted at them, whacking one of them across the head, "I already have an automail mechanic! I don't damn hell need to be pestered by freak jobs like you. Dammit, I hate this place."

Sakura watched as Edward tried to push the persistent engineers away from him. She giggled at how somewhat humorous Edward was and it made her feel less homesick. It seems as if whenever she looks at Edward's 'annoyed' and 'frowned-up' face makes her feel a bit happier inside.

Edward's golden eyes looked up at Sakura, noticing that her green eyes were watching him.

"Sakura, what's up?" Edward asked, snapping Sakura's constant staring at him.

Realizing this, Sakura blushed and waved her hands, "Ahh… it's nothing!"

'_Why was I staring at him so much…?' _Sakura thought, holding her face from blushing and shook her head.

The blonde alchemist headed over and looked around, "Hey Sakura wasn't Alphonse with you just a minute ago?"

Sakura's green orbs blinked and looked around. There was no armor in the space beside her.

"You're right…! He was just here…" The kunoichi looked around, "Al? Where are you?"

"Al!" Edward called as the two of them began to scout around the streets of Rush Valley.

A few minutes had passed and there was no sign of the younger Elric anywhere. Edward slapped himself in the forehead.

"How hard is it to find a humungous armor in this god damned place?" Edward complained, "It's a huge, metal thing walking around the street! It doesn't blend in!"

Sakura began to panic. The thought of losing Alphonse just scared her a bit…

"What if one of the automail engineers thought he was an old junk of armor that they could take spare metal parts from?" Sakura trembled.

Edward's face nearly lost all of its color when Sakura said that. Sakura gulped, looking at him nervously.

"**ALPHONSE!"** Both of them screamed, running through crowds of people to try and find the gentle armored alchemist.

"… Guys, I'm right here."

As soon as they heard that meek voice, Sakura and Edward halted to a stop. They slowly turned and saw Alphonse crouched down in a somewhat dark alleyway.

"Al, where the hell have you been?" Edward said exasperatedly, relieved to find his younger brother.

Alphonse began to fidget a bit in his crouching position, "Uh… brother…"

Edward narrowed his golden eyes. He had seen Alphonse in this position before and he only sighed.

"Al… you're acting like you do when you see a kitten. Did you find a stray or something again?"

Sakura blinked and giggled a bit, "If it's a kitten, it's not that bad… we'll find a good place for it, Al-kun."

"Actually, it's far from being a kitten…" Alphonse replied politely.

When Alphonse turned to face them, he lifted up something that made Edward and Sakura fall over. It wasn't a kitten… it was an actual, unconscious **person**.

"What the…" Sakura gasped, looking at the person Alphonse carried out from the alleyway.

When Alphonse laid the person down, Sakura and Edward crouched down to get a closer look. The man had typical apricot colored skin and unruly long black hair. His clothing was a bit odd too: yellow jacket, bandaged chest, white pants, and black flats. He also had around his shoulder a special brown sword holder. Edward stared at him dully while Sakura and Alphonse were very curious.

One thing for sure, he didn't seem like he was from around here…

"He's out cold, huh?" Edward said, his face not expressing any hint of concern for the foreigner.

"It sure looks that way…" Alphonse replied, shaking his head.

Sakura glanced at the two of them and sighed. She didn't understand why Edward would act so careless for a collapsed man found in the streets.

Using her analytical and medical skills, Sakura scooted over to the laying man. Carefully, she leaned over and placed two of her fingers on the side of his neck. Waiting for a moment or two, she finally felt a bump of a pulse.

Sakura smiled widely, "Hey guys he's…!"

Before Sakura could announce the condition of the mysterious man, she felt something unnerving rubbing on her behind. The naïve kunoichi slowly turned around to see where she felt this… odd touch on her butt.

When her big green eyes looked at the source of the touching, it turned out to be a hand—the hand of the strange black-haired man.

Sakura squealed in shock and frantic, "AHHH! What the…?"

Her first immediate reaction was to grasp to someone and the nearest person was Edward. She wrapped her arms around him, not sure of what to do.

Usually, Sakura would punch the 'pervert' with instinct but because her guard was completely down, she had to react in a way where she needed someone to help her. She grasped her arms around Edward and started to freak out, saying, "Help me… help me… help me…!"

Edward, already fuming while holding Sakura protectively, angrily demanded, **"Al, take him back where you found him and dump him there!"**

"But brother…!" Alphonse whined.

* * *

**"Wow! I feel alive again! Never been better!"**

Surprisingly, instead of leaving the unconscious, perverted man (as deemed by Sakura), they decided to give him a chance and help him. It wasn't everyday that the trio of Alphonse, Edward, and Sakura would experience something like that.

The three of them and the strange man were now sitting in one of Rush Valley's finest restaurants, eating their large dishes. Actually, it seemed like the foreigner was the only one that was eating a lot of the food they had ordered.

Sakura, along with Edward and Alphonse, watched as the black-haired man began to devour the food that was served in front of him.

'_Wow… he may have beaten the eating records of both Naruto and Chouji…' _Sakura thought, comparing the two gluttonous ninjas and the odd man.

"You guys saved my life!" The foreign man said in between his bites, "Thanks for the meal! I was starving!"

"Ah… I never said anything about treating you…" Edward scowled, annoyed.

The man laughed and sighed happily, "I never expected to find such kindness so far away from home. I am humbled by your generosity!"

"You're not from around here, are you?" Alphonse asked. Sakura and Edward glanced at him, never expecting Alphonse to initiate the question first. "I mean… you kind of have an accent…"

"Indeed," The man nodded, "I am from Xing!"

Both the Elric brothers were shocked, especially Sakura. Yes, Sakura had heard of Xing in the beginning and was told to say that's where she had come from to protect her otherworldly secret but she had never seen someone travel from all the way there. Izumi and everyone else that she had met told her that Xing was a country in the far east of Amestris. Separating Amestris and Xing was a great desert, which was said to be perilous and difficult to pass through.

"Xing? The Empire to the east?" Alphonse exclaimed, surprised.

"Huh? You came all the way? But why?" Edward added, equally as surprised, "Was it hard crossing the desert?"

The Xingese man grinned, "Hard is an understatement. The Great Desert is merciless!"

He then took a stray stick from the ground of the restaurant and started to draw a simple diagram of Amestris, Xing, and the Great Desert. Sakura's green eyes watched him as she was starting to understand more of the Fullmetal Alchemist world.

"With the supposed desert railroad totally buried in sand…" He explained, "I had to brave the waste land with horse and camel. For the final stretch, I followed the rout through the Xerxes ruins."

The Xingese man drew his routes and main points on the small diagram, letting the trio have a better look at how it was like. Alphonse raised an eyebrow when he had heard of Xerxes…

'_That time… when my memories of the Gate came up… I heard that city for some reason…' _

Alphonse shook his head and said, "It would've been easier to travel by sea, even though it's the long way around."

"Yes that is true but…" The young man smiled a bit, "But I was hoping to see the Xerxes ruins with my own eyes."

"Xerxes huh?" Edward scratched his chin, "But I heard there's nothing there. Legend has it that it was destroyed in a single night."

Sakura listened to the conversation going back and forth between the boys. She wasn't sure if she should butt in and interrupt. She decided that it was best to just pay attention because she might learn a thing or two, especially about the man from the east.

"So are you a tourist, sir?" Alphonse questioned.

"No, I'm here to gather information." He replied, "I came to research your country's _Rendanshu_."

"Rendanshu…?"

The trio blinked.

"That's right!" The man beamed, "In Amestris, you call it 'alchemy', correct?"

"What is Rendanshu exactly?"

"In Xing, that is what we call alchemy. The name actually means 'descended from medicine'."

Sakura's eyes widened. Now this was a topic that she was interested in… alchemy that derived from medicine.

'_Alchemy that came from medicine? I have to listen to this topic… I mean, if I can't be able to do my medical jutsus here in this world… I might be able to do __**that**__ instead.'_

The pink-haired kunoichi wanted to be of use to both the Elric brothers. Ever since the incident in Dublith with Greed and the chimeras, Sakura wanted to be at least reliable to them.

She looked down at her wrist and narrowed her eyes at the bandages. Sakura sighed. _'I need to get my strength back up… maybe then, I can really help the both of them…'_

"Your people in Amestris consider alchemy as science, right?"

"Yeah. I guess it's a big cultural difference…"

Sakura snapped out from her thoughts to realize that Edward and the man from Xing were in a different kind of topic. She sat properly as she listened carefully.

"Our country puts military needs first…"

Edward grabbed the stick and began to also draw on the diagram that was already created from the ground. He added three more regions in the country diagram and some symbols of important points. The three circles/regions that Edward drew were Drachma, Creta, and Aerugo.

"Even now we have continuous border conflicts with Aerugo to the South and Creta to the west," Edward explained, "In the north is the nation of Drachma. We've signed a non-aggression treaty with them but… the only reason they don't attack us is because Mt. Briggs act as a natural barrier so the situation is unstable over here too."

To emphasize his statement, Edward drew little arrows in between Drachma and Amestris. The arrows indicated the large mountains of Briggs.

"What a difficult country…" Sakura commented, having a better understanding of Amestris' current stated.

"Agreed," The Xingese added, "The people here must have had a tough."

"We've always had our share of quarrels," Edward said and frowned, "But it was only when King Bradley became **Fuhrer President** that **war** became our life…"

'_Fuhrer Bradley…?' _Sakura tapped her lips for a moment, trying to remember him. Her mind then suddenly flashed to the man with the eyepatch back at Dublith and the same man who told her the directions to the hospital that one time.

'_Is it really true?' _She wondered. _'Fuhrer Bradley was the president to enforce border conflicts on this country…? He doesn't seem like a bad person though from what I saw of him…'_

"Brother," Alphonse turned to Edward, "Maybe if we didn't focus so much on the military, alchemy would have developed in a way to benefit the people, like in Xing!"

"That's true…" Edward sighed.

Finally, Sakura was able to join in the conversation, "Ano… I was wondering… do you know how to perform your country's Rendanshu?"

Edward nodded his head, eager, "Yeah! I'm interested in that too… alchemy that grew out of medicine!"

The Xingese man's face lit up with curiosity and cheerfulness, "Oh! Are you three alchemists?"

"Well, both my brother and I are alchemists." Edward smiled, "I'm Edward Elric. I'm a State Alchemist."

"My name is Alphonse Elric! I'm his younger brother… believe it or not!"

"And my name is Sakura Haruno," Sakura smiled politely, "I'm their friend and a traveler as well."

"A State Alchemist, his little brother, and a very cute girl!" The Xingese man chuckled, "How lucky I am to have met such talented to people."

He then clasps Edward and Alphonse's hands, "My name is Ling Yao, and it is an honor to meet you all!"

Ling then made his way over to Sakura and shook her hands, "It is nice to meet you too, Miss Sakura! I am terribly sorry for my actions when I was unconscious."

"It's okay… apology accepted." Sakura cracked a nervous smile, trying to forget about that little incident, "But it is a pleasure to meet you, Ling-san."

"Yes, the pleasure is all mine!" Ling said, smiling happily… _and rubbing Sakura's hands affectionately._

Sakura felt that uncomfortable feeling and immediately, humorously pulled and slapped Ling's hand away by instinct. Edward saw this and placed both hands on Sakura's shoulders, pulling her protectively away…

"Anyways…" Edward twitched, "About that 'Rendanshu' alchemy that you were talking about earlier… could you be able to give us a demonstration."

"Yes, Ling-san!" Sakura chimed in, interested, "May you show us how you can do it?"

"I'm afraid not! I don't know how to do it!"

Edward and Alphonse fell over from Ling's response while Sakura's face dropped to the table.

"Then whatever the hell are you research alchemy for if you don't how to do it?" Edward yelled.

Ling then scratched his cheek, "Perhaps you've heard of it but… I wanted to know more about it ever since I went to this country…"

The next thing that trio expected was not something that they wanted to hear…

"**I want to know more about… the Philosopher's Stone."**

Edward, Sakura, and especially Alphonse… all of their eyes broadened with shock as Ling's happy face dissipated into a rather sinister one.

"I'm going to get my hands on it. Know where I might find it?"

Edward was one of the first ones to stand up.

"Nope, no idea." Edward said harshly, "I guess we've both said everything there is to say. See ya."

The Fullmetal Alchemist grabbed Sakura's hand, "Let's go… we still have to check out Rush Valley remember? Let's go too, Al."

But, before Ed, Al, and Sakura could get away, Ling extended his hand and grabbed Sakura's other wrist, the one that was bandaged.

Sakura winced as Ling had a good grip on her, preventing her to move with Edward and Alphonse. Edward saw this and turned, angered.

"Hey! Get your damn hands off her, you—!"

But before Edward could react with a swinging punch, he felt a cool blade press against his neck.

"Brother! Sakura!"

Alphonse, too, was going to react but he felt something sharp slide into his armor. When both of the brothers turned, they saw two masked warriors, keeping them in their place with their weapons.

"Clearly," Ling began, pulling Sakura gently close to him at his side, "You know more than you're letting on… so, tell me more **please.**"

Sakura gritted her teeth. _'I can't believe this guy!'_

The kunoichi wanted to move so badly but Ling's grip was tight on her, especially of how it was wrap around her healing, broken wrist.

Edward, who seemed to be unaffected with the small blade at his neck, then said, "… Why do you want the Philosopher's Stone?"

The response that Edward received from Ling was a greedy grin…

"**So I can become immortal!"**

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I have been finally able to submit a new chapter of 'Renkinjutsu'. I apologize for taking so long. Like I said, a lot of things had happened these past months that I haven't been in touch with writing fanfiction. I have honestly thought of giving up. Luckily, my passion sparked somewhere along the line and I was able to continue.**

**I know this chapter is probably shorter than the other chapters… but I just wanted to get back to writing. I'm getting used to it now and slowly, I'm starting to regain the lost will to continue. I love this story very much and I love both animes… and I also STILL love the pairing.**

**Anyways, there's a lot for me to say about the current state of the story: I'm thinking of rewriting the chapters, renaming the title, and definitely fixing up plot holes that I put in the story. **

**I was rereading before I submitted this story and there was A LOT of mess ups. There were things that were left unsaid and things that were irrelevant from what I was planning at first. I want to just let you all know that. If there is something that you are confused about in the story, just let it slide. I'll be sure to change it once I rewritten the chapters to a much more improved and better version. Make sure you keep an eye on it!**

**Another thing is the category. I moved it now the FMA and Naruto category. I feel like it belongs there than the one that I put it in at first. So, if you're confused of where it went, just look under FMA and Naruto crossover category. **

**Last note: I will also write some notes of the story in my profile and current listed updates. I will no longer be replying to reviews like I did before so if you have any specific questions, be sure to PM me here in my account. **

**Thank you everyone that still stuck by the story after a long time hiatus. I'll be sure to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! It makes me happy and tearful that you are still here to support, even after the end of the FMA series! :)**

**~ Sakura Minatsuki**


End file.
